Accusations Against Zico Resurface After BBC’s “Burning Sun” Documentary

Netizens are still divided over the issue.

The BBC World Service’s investigative team, BBC Eye, recently released a powerful documentary titled Burning Sun, unveiling the many unknown aspects of the infamous Burning Sun Scandal that left the Korean entertainment industry shaken in 2019.

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“In South Korea, K-Pop stars have fame, fortune, and millions of female fans. But some led a double life.” | BBC

The documentary has revived the public rebuke against the idols who were implicated in this massive sex scandal, including Seungri and Jung Joon Young. Singer Zico, too, has gotten caught up in this new wave of criticism for his association with Jung.

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Zico | @woozico0914/Instagram

Back in 2016, Zico had revealed on a variety show that Jung had a “golden phone” that was used solely for Kakaotalk. Jung, who was seated beside him, added that Zico would often visit his house and spend time scrolling through said phone. Since the scandal involved accusations against the celebrities for sharing secret footage of them assaulting women through Kakaotalk chatrooms, many netizens were convinced that Zico was talking about the same phone Jung used for this purpose and was aware of his heinous crimes.

He has a Golden Phone. It’s not his regular phone. He only uses it for KakaoTalk. He has a lot of contacts on it.

— Zico

When the Burning Sun Scandal broke three years later, the singer vehemently denied any knowledge or involvement in Jung’s crimes.

The phone that I mentioned on the show had nothing to do with this unfortunate case. All I saw on that phone was a list of phone numbers, and I haven’t contacted Jung Joon Young on a personal level in a very long time. Please don’t make any rash assumptions, and regarding the malicious comments and spreading of false information, I will take strong actions against them.

— Zico

However, in September of the same year, Zico released a song titled “Extreme,” where a particular line ticked people off the wrong way. In the song, he said, “I’ve never seen a video like that, swear to god,” which made people suspicious again.

The BBC documentary seems to have brought it up all over again, with many netizens demanding a probe.

Many, however, came to the singer’s defense, pointing out that none of the investigations ever found Zico involved in the case, and neither the journalists have hinted at his involvement. Some argued that the phone he mentioned didn’t contain any videos but just a long list of celebrity contacts, which was the reason behind Zico’s fascination with it.

With arguments and counter-arguments from both sides, it is likely that this suspicion around Zico’s reference to Jung’s phone will remain amidst netizens, unless there is any further official information revealed.

Burning Sun Scandal

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