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A photo purportedly taken at the scene of an alleged assault involving former Big Bang member Seungri has drawn attention, amid reports that he faces aggravated assault charges stemming from an incident at a bar.

On Sunday, a social media account belonging to a self-described overseas fan of Seungri posted a photo of the singer said to have been taken in August.

In the image, Seungri — wearing a black cap — is seen smiling broadly alongside three others at what appears to be a bar. A birthday cake, snacks and bottles of alcohol are visible on the table.

Speculation emerged that the photo was taken at the scene on the day of the alleged incident. Fans left comments such as "He was celebrating a birthday — why does someone always have to bother him?" and "A drunk person came to Seungri's table and harassed him, right?"

However, it has not been confirmed whether the photo was actually taken at the scene of the incident.

It recently came to light that a man in his 30s, identified only as A, filed a complaint against Seungri on aggravated assault charges on Aug. 26. A claims Seungri assaulted him at a restaurant in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Seungri, however, told Ilgan Sports that he was wrongly accused. He said he had been having a meal with two acquaintances at a sundaeguk restaurant in Gangnam on the morning of Aug. 8 when A, drunk, approached from another table and abruptly demanded to join them.

Seungri said he refused multiple times, but A would not leave, insisting that Seungri hear out his business ideas. "Eventually he ended up joining us — we talked, drank together, and even exchanged numbers to stay in touch," Seungri said.

"A even walked me to the door when I was heading home," Seungri said. "A few hours later, he texted saying he would bring a business plan the following week — so I was baffled when, for some reason, he changed his mind and filed a complaint saying he had been harmed."

On the aggravated assault charges specifically, Seungri acknowledged that he had picked up a bottle during the exchange over whether A could join the table, but denied using it threateningly. "I picked it up — that's true — but I never swung it or threatened anyone with it," he said.

Seungri said he is considering filing a counter-complaint against A for false accusation.

Seungri, a former member of Big Bang, was implicated in the 2019 "Burning Sun" scandal and was sentenced by the Supreme Court to one year and six months in prison on nine charges, including habitual gambling, prostitution, arranging prostitution, incitement to aggravated assault and embezzlement. He served the sentence.


paq@heraldcorp.com