Jung Joon-young (; born February 21, 1989) is a South Korean former musician who was convicted in 2019 as part of the Burning Sun scandal for gang-raping two different victims on two occasions in 2016, and then sharing videos of the rapes in private chatrooms.
Jung first gained recognition in the 2012 season of the musical reality competition television show Superstar K, where he finished in third place.Kim Min-Kwan We are expecting Jung Joon-young's future Ohmynews,2012-11-22 In October 2013 he released his debut mini album, 1st Mini Album, which won him the "New Male Solo Artist" award at the 3rd Gaon Chart Music Awards. On June 26, 2014, he released his self-produced 2nd mini album, Teenager. On February 7, 2017, he released his studio album The First Person. From 2015 to March 2019, Jung was the lead vocalist of the rock band JJY Band, which was renamed Drug Restaurant in 2016.
In 2013, he joined the KBS2 variety show 2 Days & 1 Night as its youngest member and would be a cast member on the show until 2019. He hosted his own radio program titled Jung Joon-young's Simsimtapa on MBC FM from 2014 to 2015 and made his film debut in Love Forecast in 2015.
In March 2019, developments in the Burning Sun scandal led to the public reveal of Jung Joon-young KakaoTalk chatrooms. Subsequently, Jung retired from the entertainment industry, admitting that he had "filmed women without their consent and shared it". On November 29, 2019, Jung was sentenced to six years in prison for the rape of multiple drunk unconscious women and for non-consensually filming and sharing sexual images of his victims. In May 2020, the sentence was reduced to five years by the Seoul High Court.
Early life Jung Joon-young was born on February 21, 1989, in South Korea. He then grew up in Indonesia, China, Japan, France and Philippines.Rocker Jung Joon Young Reveals his Linguistic Talents: Speaks Three Languages. Jung Joon-young's father who is an international businessman He is the youngest son of Jung Hak-chun and Choi Jong-sook. His father was an international businessman who travelled to many countries for his business. Jung learned to speak English, Chinese, and Korean fluently. He could not enroll in a regular school due to frequent moves. He took private lessons for subjects such as Math and English, as well as violin, and piano. He also got his fourth-degree black belt in Taekwondo.
When Jung turned 17, he went to the Philippines to do missionary work. He taught Taekwondo and music to the local children. He was a member of the choir that performed for the former president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He stated that he got inspired by Kurt Cobain and was determined to become a rock star after he watched Nirvana's MTV Unplugged show when he was a teenager.
Career
2010–2012: Beginnings
Indie Bands period Jung moved to South Korea the next year to start his musical career and soon signed to an entertainment agency, supposedly Danal Entertainment which released Jung's solo EP titled Rock Trip in 2010 as well as the digital single "환상 Fantasy" in 2012.
In 2010, Starkim Entertainment selected Jung as a vocalist of LEDApple.Stewart Ho Reveals 'Superstar K4's Jung Joon Young Was Once a Fellow Member CJ E&M enewsWorld,2012-11-16 As one of the original members, he went through the training process and even finished recording the debut album with the band, however, before Led Apple's debut in 2010, Starkim Entertainment discovered that Jung was already under contract with the previous agency which refused to release him and, thus, he was dropped from the idol rock band.
In 2010, Jung dove into the Hongdae, Seoul indie music scene and formed various bands such as Flower Mist which busked in Japan and Switch On which performed for amateur club theaters.
Jung modeled for several online shopping malls. He was also featured in an advertisement for "BGF Retail", and participated in other artists' music videos, such as "Liquor Bottle" (술병 by Haha).Stewart Ho K4's Jung Joon Young Discovered in Taetiseo enewsworld,2012-10-04 Jung appeared on the TV show Season 5 (Ep.1~Ep.8)Jung Joon-Young was on the TV Show"Ulzzang Generation" News DongA.2012-09-24 and he said of the show, "People don't like this program because they think this is just about good looking boys and girls chatting on a TV show, but it was a good opportunity for me to make money."
Week #DateThemeSong ChoiceReferenceJudge's mark (Lee, Yoon, Psy (Yoon))ResultVote# (vote, judge, online)Remark1stAugust 17, 2012First Official Audition"What to Say" (뭐라할까, Breeze)Seoul A Baek Ji-young;No
Lee Seung-chul& Lee Ha-neul;Yes4thSeptember 9, 2012Superweek solo"BakHa Candy" (박하사탕 YB Band)Safe5thSeptember 9, 2012Superweek Collaboration "Someday" (언젠가는, )EliminatedTeam leader6thSeptember 21, 2012One More Chance"Yue-Ga" (여가, Jang Yun-ju)Safe7thSeptember 28, 2012Superweek Rival Death Match"Becoming Dust" (먼지가되어, )Eliminatedvs. Roy Kim8thOctober 5, 2012Judge's Final Decision (ByPSY)SafeLive 1st Top12October 12, 2012First Love"Waiting Everyday" (매일매일 기다려, TeeSams)Safe (89,90,90)2116,923 / 770,000 (526,269, N/A)Group Song "Making Love"
(사랑만들기, Papaya)Live 2nd Top 9October 19, 2012Rivalry (Vs. An Yae-sul)"Bed of Roses" (Bed of Roses Bon Jovi)Safe (87,88,89)299,560 / 640,000 (388,264,96)Group song "The Last Game"
(마지막승부, Kim Min-kyoLive 3rd Top7November 2, 2012Go Back (Past Life)"It's Only My Life" (그것만이 내 세상, )Safe (86,86,87)2123,309 / 730,000 (388,259,96)Group Song "Confession"
(고백, DellySpice)Live 4th Top6November 2, 2012My Style"Outsider" (아웃사이더,Safe (90,90,92)2147,905 / 810,000 (468,272,84)Group Song "To You"
(그대에게, )Live 5th Top4November 9, 2012Audience Song of Choice"Emergency Room" (응급실, IZI 이지)Safe (92,92,90)2222,121 / 810,000 (600,274,85)surprising Concert "Waiting"
(기다리다, Younha)
"Creep"
Creep Radiohead Duet with Roy KimLive 6th Top3November 16, 2012Judge's Mission"Did You Forget" (잊었니, Lee Seung-chul)
"First Love"
(첫사랑, 나비효과)Eliminated (85,94,93)3277,017 / 860,000 (555,272,84)Special Guest for FinalNovember 23, 2012Final"Becoming Dust" (먼지가 되어, )Top 12 special Performance "BulGunNoUl"
(붉은 노을, BIGBANG) "Amateur"
(아마츄어, Lee Seung-chul)
Since his band "Switch On" was little known to the public, Jung Joon-young tried to take part in Superstar K4 with Switch On members to gain more popularity as a band, but they could not continue the audition together due to issues with some foreign members' visas. Thus, he decided to carry on the audition as a solo artist.
During the Superweek, his low husky voice, appearance, and rather idiosyncratic personality appealed to the viewers as well as the judges, one of whom, PSY, was particularly impressed. Moreover, his collaboration with Roy Kim covering "먼지가 되어 (Becoming Dust)" by , a ballad which Jung changed to a rock version, became a big hit and the best duet audition song ever.Lee, JinHo Psy Says ′After Turning Into Dust′ on ′Superstar K4′ was the Best Ever CJ E&M enewsWorld,2012-12-10 After its release, it achieved an "all-kill" on real-time charts and won the Mnet 20's Choice Hot Cover as well as 2013's Most Popular Karaoke Song of the Year at the 3rd Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards. Jung had been at risk of dropping out several times, but he passed through into the finals by Psy's choice in the judge's final decision.
Throughout the final stages, he stuck to rock as his only musical style. He received multiple suggestions to try a different genre of music, such as ballads, from the judges. However, on the other hand, his persistence for rock music impressed a lot of viewers, and as a result, it help him to establish a strong fandom. He was able to survive the third stage through a large number of phone votes. His covers that represented his rock style were "매일매일 기다려 Waiting Everyday" by TeeSams, "Bed of Roses" by Bon Jovi, and "Outsider" (), whose performance received a positive response from the judges and audience. On the fifth stage, he was urged to sing the rock ballad "응급실 Emergency Room" by IZI which had been chosen by the viewers instead of via his musical taste. Unexpectedly, it ranked highly, topping various online charts and earning favorable reactions from the public.
Though he was eliminated in the sixth stage of the semi-final from the top three, during his farewell interview Jung stated the following: "Superstar K4 was the turning point in my music career. Before I tried out for Superstar K4, only those who liked rock music listened to my songs. However, now a wider variety of people listen to my music and acknowledge me. I am glad that I got to make myself known through Superstar K4."
2013: Debut and Self-Titled Mini Album After Superstar K4, Jung had been doing concerts, TV and radio programs, modelling for cars, clothes, games, N-screen, and beer. From May 6, he worked as a DJ for MBC FM4U's Close Friend until September 1. He has appeared in several TV shows including KBS2's Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend, Happy Together, MBC's Radio Star, and We Got Married. He was featured in KBS's 2 Days & 1 Night Season 3 since December 1 (until his departure in 2016, and indefinite hiatus of the season in 2019 due to his scandals).
On May 21, Jung signed with CJ E&M after receiving offers from numerous entertainment companies.
After signing with CJ E&M, Jung released his debut single "Spotless Mind" () with two versions of the music video being released: the N version and the S version on October 1. Just an hour after release, "Spotless Mind" gained the number one on Mnet, Bugs, and Soribada.
On October 10, Jung made his debut with the release of Jung Joon Young 1st mini album. The EP contained a total of six tracks, including the title track, "The Sense of an Ending" (), and two songs that he participated in writing and composing: "Missed Call" () and "Take off Mask". The EP was a moderate success, ranking number one on both the daily and weekly chart of Synnara Record during its first week. In addition, "Spotless Mind" () landed at the third place and "The Sense of an Ending" () also took second place on MBC's Music Core.
He visited Taiwan in order to promote his first EP on December 8 and greeted 1,000 Taiwanese fans and had an autograph signing event with his song performances for those who had purchased a special limited edition of his album.
Jung earned the award for New Male Solo Artist for "이별 10분전 (The Sense of an Ending)" and Most Popular Karaoke Song of the Year for "먼지가 되어 (Becoming Dust)" at the 3rd Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards. He also earned Star of the Year at the MBC Entertainment Awards.
2014: Teenager
On January 2, he released an OST for Pretty Man called "하루만 (I'm Nobody)" written and composed by himself that contains two versions such as an American rock style version and a British pop style drama version. The rock ballad "I'm Nobody" () has topped Bugs Chart and Mnet Chart within its first five days of release.
On March 12, Jung released an official cheer song, "Always Reds", which was collaborated with the hip hop group Soul Dive, a track on the Red Devils' official cheer album "We are the Reds" for 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Jung joined hands with Younha for the duet song "달리함께 (Just the way you are)" which encourages people to gain confidence. The song combines both the rock spirit and ballad. Upon its release on May 29, it ranked top on several music charts such as Mnet, Bugs, and Olleh Music.
Jung returned with his second EP, Teenager, on June 26. All the tracks in the album were composed and produced by Jung and he also participated in the design and production of the album's concept, cover picture, and all other minor details regarding the album. The theme of the album was "the adult who dreams" and contained his wish for people who are exhausted by the world to start dreaming again. It ranked third on Gaon Album Chart in its first week of release.