Seungri, a former member of the group Big Bang who was released after serving a prison sentence on charges of soliciting prostitution and overseas gambling, was spotted at a restaurant.

Recently, a video showing Seungri visiting a restaurant has been attracting attention in online communities. The person who filmed the video is Grace Tahir, a medical entrepreneur and co-founder of Indonesia's Mayapada Hospital, who is active on YouTube and podcasts.

Tahir visited Korea on the 21st. He, who has more than 220,000 followers, released a video on his account showing him sightseeing around Seoul and having a drink with Seungri.

In the video, Seungri is shown wearing sunglasses and opening a soju bottle with flashy showmanship. Seungri excitedly shakes the soju bottle, saying, “This is the traditional Korean style of shaking a soju bottle.” He also shows the movement of hitting the bottom of a soju bottle with his palm and elbow, saying, "You can also do it with your elbow like this." Afterwards, they perform a performance where they open the cap of a soju bottle, hit the neck of the bottle, and put down the soju bottle with a big smile.

The video quickly spread among Seungri fans. To fans who asked how Seungri was doing, Tahir said, "I didn't know Seungri was this popular. He is healthy both physically and mentally. When I asked how his parents were, they said 'he's fine.'" He also said, "I like talking and chatting. I thought she would appear with blonde hair and makeup like she showed in the Google photos, but that wasn't the case in reality." He added, “I asked him if he wanted to be interviewed, but he said not right now.”

Tahir said, “If you go to jail, it will be difficult to be forgiven, people around you will know this, and it will be difficult to find a job. In Korea, social sanctions are severe. People believe what they see in the media. (In Korea), social sanctions are imposed at school, so you can study hard and do well. “I think that if you don’t go to school, you will fail,” he said.

A debate broke out among netizens who watched the video. Some fans welcomed Seungri's bright current status, but some netizens criticized him, saying, "He shows no signs of reflection," and "He is addicted to entertainment."

In May of last year, Seungri was indicted on charges of habitual gambling, violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, and violation of the Punishment Act such as prostitution brokerage (prostitution, prostitution brokerage, filming using cameras, etc.). He was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison and served at Yeoju Prison in Gyeonggi Province, and was released on February 9th.

Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr
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