Burning Sun Entertainment, the company that operated the well-known Burning Sun club in Gangnam, has initiated bankruptcy proceedings officially.

Legal sources confirmed that the Seoul Bankruptcy Court’s Division 13, led by Judge Kang Hyun Gu, approved the simplified bankruptcy for Burning Sun Entertainment on March 18th. This simplified process is used when the debtor's remaining assets are below 500 million KRW (about 342,000 USD).

As a result, the company has moved into liquidation, allowing creditors to submit claims until April 11th. A creditor meeting and investigation are set for April 29th, which may involve discussions on the potential continuation of operations. However, the primary focus will be on reviewing the identities and amounts owed to creditors.

Established in February 2018, Burning Sun was managed by the corporation and gained notoriety due to its association with BIGBANG member Seungri, who was an internal director. The club shut down in 2019 amidst a scandal involving assault, drug distribution, sexual crimes, and suspicions of collusion with law enforcement, later known as the Burning Sun Gate controversy.

Key individuals implicated in the scandal, such as singer Jung Joon Young and former FTISLAND member Choi Jonghun, were found guilty of gang-raping an intoxicated woman in 2016 and sharing illicitly filmed videos. Both have completed their prison sentences—Jung served five years, while Choi served two and a half.

Seungri was convicted for various charges, including procuring prostitution and habitual gambling, and was released in February 2023 after serving a 1 year and 6-month sentence.

Additionally, Yoon Gyu Geun, a former senior police officer accused of leaking police information to Seungri and his associate, as well as instructing the destruction of evidence during the investigation, was fined 20 million KRW for some charges related to capital market laws violations and tampering with evidence.