Burning Sun Assault Victim Reveals His Whole Story In Petition To The Blue House

This article is part of our coverage of Burning Sun Scandal. You can read more and view the entire timeline here.

BIGBANG Seungri‘s club, Burning Sun, is currently under scrutiny after a customer was beaten by the club’s CEO (Mr. Jang, not Seungri) and his friends. The victim, Mr. Kim, soon uploaded a petition for The Blue House, where he told his side of the story in detail.

 

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Mr. Kim Gets Assaulted By Burning Sun Employees

Mr. Kim begins by explaining that he was on his way out of the club after celebrating a friend’s birthday when a woman, who seemed to be in trouble, grabbed onto him for help. Even before he could assess what was exactly happening, the man who the girl was seemingly running away from began assaulting him with his friends.

“Hello, my name is Kim Sangkyo, a 28-year-old citizen of South Korea.

On November 24, 2018 Saturday, I went to a club called ‘Burning Sun’ in Gangnam and reserved a table to celebrate the birthday of a friend who is helping me with the interior design of my advertisement-project. We were on our way out after drinking 3 bottles of champagne, when a woman jumped out from a table on my right and hid behind me, while grabbing onto my left shoulder. At that moment, a man’s arm reached out from the table and tried to pull the woman by her armpits and in between her breasts. She held onto me as she tried to resist. As a reflex, I grabbed onto the man’s arm and looked at the man (Burning Sun’s manager). As soon as I looked, he threw a punch in my direction. I avoided the punch, held onto both of the man’s arms, and asked a body guard for help.

However, what returned in my ask for assistance was a collective beating by the body guard and the people from the table.”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

The manager, the bodyguard, and their friends dragged Mr. Kim out into an area without CCTV. They began beating him up collectively. Mr. Kim found the opportunity to call the police but was soon assaulted again shortly after the call.

“The bodyguard and some other people from the table (at least 3) grabbed me and dragged me out of the club.

They threw me out from the VIP entrance of ’Burning Sun’ and pushed me towards an area that didn’t have CCTV. The man who had an issue with me, as well as the bodyguard and a couple of his friends, tripped me and stomped on me with their feet. I retreated backwards and was able to briefly call the police through my cellphone at 07:02am. I didn’t want them to flee the scene, so I went back towards them and screamed at them to not run away. They once again collectively beat me up.

This is the end of the 1st assault that I got from the CEO and his friends at YG BIGBANG Seungri’s club, ‘Burning Sun’.”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

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The Corrupt Policemen Arrest And Beat Mr. Kim

The police soon arrived and witnessed Mr. Kim getting beaten. However, instead of arresting the assaulters, they arrested Mr. Kim.

“The police arrived at the scene by 07:10am.

When they arrived, they saw me get beat up on the ground. But when the police (Police Sergeant Ha Jin Woong) saw who was assaulting me, he hurriedly pushed me into the club’s entrance. When I told the policeman’s partner, Ahn Hwan Suk, ‘You can’t let them get away’, they blocked my sight and forcefully pushed me against the police car and handcuffed me behind my back. The situation didn’t make sense to me but I calmly told them that I was the one who made the call and that I was the one getting assaulted, as they witnessed themselves.

I politely asked them, ‘If you consider this as assault from both sides, shouldn’t you be arresting both of us? Why are you only arresting me?’ However, the only response I got was being forcefully pushed into the police car. With my hands handcuffed behind my back, I was taken to the police station with Police Sergeant Ha Jin Woong driving and his partner Ahn Hwan Suk sitting in the back next to me.”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

On the way to the police station, Mr. Kim had difficulty breathing. When he requested that he be un-cuffed so that he can breathe properly, the policemen started cursing at him.

When Mr. Kim argued back, one of the policemen punched him repeatedly.

“I was flustered because none of what just happened made sense to me. When I asked the policemen in the car, Police Ahn Hwan Suk and Police Sergeant Ha Jin Woong, ‘What’s going on? I’m the one who called the police and you saw the assault happening’, they responded by cursing at me. They said, ‘Sh*t, let’s just go quietly’ (Policeman Ahn Hwan Suk).

I asked them if they could take off my handcuffs because it was hard to breath after the collective beating that had taken place at ‘Burning Sun’. I told them that it felt like my ribs were cracked.

As soon as I asked, ‘What trouble could I cause at this state?’, they once again said, ‘I told you to shut the f*ck up’. I responded, ‘Why do you keep cursing at me? It seriously hurts, so uncuff me.’ Ahn Hwan Suk then punched me in the ribs where I said it felt like there was a crack. As soon as I writhed in pain, he pushed me down with his body and hit my shoulder hard three times.

This was the 1st assault I got from the police. (Yeoksam Team 3 ‘Policeman Ahn Hwan Suk’ [Assault], ‘Police Sergeant Ha Jin Woong’ [Aiding])”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

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Mr. Kim Gets Beaten By 10+ Policemen At The Station

After arriving at the police station, Mr. Kim was beaten again even before he entered the building. The policemen tripped him, kicked his face, and caused his face to collide with the door, which ultimately made his nose and mouth to be bleed openly.

“I arrived at the Yeoksam Police Station around 07:15~07:30. As I was getting out of the police car, I said, ‘How can the police beat people up, I’m the one who called.’ Ahn Hwan Suk said, ‘This son of a b(tech, I told you to shut up yet you’re still talking’, while he tripped me from behind and pushed me to the ground in the direction towards the station’s entrance.

After pushing me down, he kicked me in the face three times with his shoes. In the midst of the assault, I collided with the stainless bottom piece of the station’s glass doors, causing both of my nostrils to bleed. Three areas inside of my mouth also ripped, which became the start of how my mouth and lips sustained great injury.

This was the 2nd assault from the police. (Yeoksam Team 3 ‘Policeman Ahn Hwan Suk’ [Assault], ‘Police Sergeant Ha Jin Woong’ [Aiding])”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

Once he was inside the station, Mr. Kim felt scared being surrounded by a large group of corrupt policemen. As he continued to bleed out, the policemen only appeared to be trying to find ways to hide the evidences. Thankfully, he was able to secretly phone his mother.

“After I was assaulted for the 2nd time at the entrance of the Yeoksam Police Station around 07:15~07:30am, I was tied down to a chair next to the center desk with my hands still cuffed behind my back. The police failed to follow the protocol of calling my emergency contact, and they also didn’t read me my Miranda Rights.

I felt very scared after realizing that the police were defending the assaulters from the club, while handcuffing me instead. I secretly reached for my phone that I had in my back pocket and called my mom on speaker phone.

My nose and mouth continued to bleed, and the police continued to wipe away the blood that I spilled onto the floor. I could clearly tell that they were trying to keep this case a secret. The other policemen seemed surprised that I was bleeding after getting beaten.”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

When his mother arrived at the station, she was shocked to see her son in such a state. She demanded that he be transferred to another branch for investigation.

She also called for the ambulance, who deemed that Mr. Kim needed to be transferred to the hospital immediately. However, the police station refused to let him go.

“The Yeoksam Station’s Team Leader, Back Kwang Je, and about 20 other policemen gathered to view the CCTV footage. They kept me tied and incarcerated for about 2 hours.

When my mother arrived at the station, she saw my current state and the atmosphere of the police station, so she called 119 and 112 again claiming, ‘I don’t think he should be investigated here.’ The ambulance arrived around 8:35am, and the rescue team confirmed, ‘This patient needs to go to the emergency room. We have to hurry with his treatments.’ But the police said I was under investigation so I wasn’t allowed to leave.”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

When Mr. Kim’s injuries became worse, the policemen didn’t try to help him. Instead, they filmed him as they mocked and ridiculed the injured man. Mr. Kim reveals that he’s never felt so belittled and ashamed in his life.

“They kept me tied until 10am, hoping that my bleeding would stop. When my bleeding turned from bright red to yellowish, Sergeant Ha Jin Woong told the other policemen, ‘Take a video of this f*cker spitting mucus so we can jail him for interference with a government official’s duties.’ I screamed at them to not film me but about 4 of them filmed me while laughing and mocking me. For the first time in my life, I felt belittled and shamed.”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

When Mr. Kim was finally allowed to be transferred to another police station, he couldn’t help but throw insult to the policemen’s face for all the pain that they’ve caused.

As a result, he was severely beaten and handcuffed again by a group of 10+ policemen.

“Around 8:46am, I was un-cuffed to be transferred to the Gangnam Police Station. At the desk, they cursed and mocked me, so I took a paper from the desk, spit blood on it and threw it towards Ha Jin Woong. ‘This isn’t spit. It’s blood because you people assaulted me.’

At that moment, Ha Jin Woong couldn’t hold in his rage as his body shook. He told the others, ‘Hold that son of a b*tch’, as someone kicked me to the ground. About 10 policemen surrounded me as they kicked me on the ground and handcuffed me again. About 10 other policemen covered the CCTV with their bodies as at least 5 continued to stomp on me like they were putting out a used cigarette. Ha Jin Woong pushed my head to the ground using his knees and grabbed my hair. He said, ‘Little boy, we’re not going to let you go even if you beg.’ The bleeding from my mouth and nose reopened.”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

Witnessing the scene, his mother tried to stop them by filming the police brutality. A group of policemen dragged her out and stole her phone. After kicking her out, the policemen began manipulating the story and CCTV to keep their assault hidden.

“My mother was shocked as she said, ‘What’s going on here?’, and tried to film what was happening on her phone. About 5 policemen took her phone, dragged her out of the station, and locked the doors.

Once again, I was assaulted by a group of policemen at 8:46am. My bleeding stopped around 10am, but I was incarcerated until the police devised another story, manipulated the CCTV, and concealed everything. Around 10am, I was transferred to the Gangnam Police Station. This was the 3rd assault from the police. (Yeoksam Police Station Police Sergeant Ahn Hwan Suk and 5 more [Assault], 10 Policemen [aiding])”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

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Mr. Kim Is Transferred To Another Police Station Where He Sees More Corruption

Any hopes of redemption for Mr. Kim after transferring to another branch was crushed when the team spearheading his investigation refused to believe his story. Instead, they accused him of causing a scene because he was drunk.

“After being transferred to the Gangnam Police Station around 10am, I was investigated by the Detective Team 2.

Police Captain Song Yo Han and Officer Lee Moon Hee asked me questions about the case, so I told them the truth about what happened to me. They claimed it was impossible, saying it was ‘disrespectful’, and started talking to me informally. They began focusing questions towards my background, if I ever had a DUI, if I paid fines, or if I’ve ever been involved in illegal activities.

Police Captain Song Yo Han told me, ‘You drank a lot didn’t you? You did it because you were drunk.’ I told them, ‘I wasn’t drunk. I only drank 3 glasses of champagne.’ They replied, ‘If we find out you’re lying we’re going to sue you.’ They said this about 5 times during the investigation.”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

The police called in two of the bodyguards that initially assaulted Mr. Kim. Mr. Kim further solidified his assumption that the police were in a close relationship with the club when they said nothing about the bodyguard’s blatant threats against him.

Even after all of the investigation, Mr. Kim was not allowed to visit the hospital and treat his wounds because he was deemed the “assaulter”, not the victim.

“The 2 body guards and I were interrogated together. From across the table, during the interrogation, the body guards told me, ‘Look away. We’re going to kill you.’ The Team 2 policemen simply looked on as they cursed and threatened me, but as soon as I tried to say one word, they shouted that I stay quiet. The Police Captain Song Yo Han cursed me out, telling me to stop talking rudely.

From 10am to 2:30pm, I was held for interrogation and wasn’t allowed to go to the hospital. After the interrogation was over, I asked them to send me to the hospital but Song Yo Han said, ‘You can’t leave for 48 hours because you’re the assaulter.’ I responded, ‘Why am I the assaulter? I’m the one bleeding but the one who assaulted me isn’t here? And I’m the assaulter?’ He threw a paper with the words ‘Interference with Police Official’s duties’ written on it and told me, ‘You’re the assaulter. You can’t leave.’”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

He later discovered that the two bodyguards lied. They claimed that Mr. Kim was sexually harassing a woman and began causing a scene when the bodyguards tried to stop him.

“During the investigation, the two bodyguards from YG Seungri’s ‘Burning Sun’ Club, claimed that I (Kim Sang Kyo) was sexually touching a girl when they tried to stop me. They falsely claimed that I caused a scene. Even so, the Detective Team 2 didn’t listen to me as they forced investigation, violated my human rights and threatened me. I was only let go when my parents came.”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

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The Aftermath

After being detained for nearly 8 hours, Mr. Kim was finally freed to visit the hospital. There, the doctors found 4 fractures in his ribs, rhabdomyolysis, finger paralysis, extreme bruising and bleeding. That was just the physical wounds.

“I was nearly beaten to death, where my ribs were fractured in 4 areas, I had rhabdomyolysis (a symptom where the muscles melt and block the blood – can cause vestibular dysfunction and even cause death), paralysis on my right finger (peripheral nerve palsy) and extreme bruises and bleeding.

In this state, I was incarcerated over night. I became the assaulter. No one was charged with assaulting me. This is the story of how the police forcefully investigated me, threatened me and violated my human rights. This is the story of what happened at the South Korean police station in 2018.”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

Mr. Kim concluded that the police are still hiding the evidence about their assault, and ask the public to help fight against the corruption by bringing the petition to The Blue House’s attention.

“Currently, the police have applied to release the CCTV footage, which is the most important proof. But they are currently blocking it and keeping it undisclosed without disclosing a justified reason.
In order to overcome the oppression of the dark nightlife and public power as individuals, we need the strength of the press and public opinion.”

— Kim Sang Kyo

 

As of now, over 200,000 people have signed his petition.

 

Multiple CCTV footages have since been released to the public as many gruesome scenes portray police brutality and the assault in front of Burning Sun.