Marijuana, Cocaine, Ketamine And More! 9 Korean Stars Who Were Embroiled In Drug Scandals

A scandal can ruin an artist's life. Drug scandals in particular can impact their career forever. Do you know that the drug policy of South Korea is quite strict? People are prohibited from using drugs even if they are in a country where the use of drugs is legal.

9 Korean artists who were embroiled in drugs scandals

1. G-Dragon

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Hailed as the King of K-Pop and member of the band BIGBANG G-Dragon has reportedly been booked in a drug case. His name reportedly popped up in the investigation of Lee Sun Kyun. However, the Police have said that the two cases are different and not interlinked.

In a statement, YG Entertainment, the company that represented G-Dragon, said, "It is difficult to respond officially as he is not currently an artist under our company."

Back in 2011, G-Dragon had admitted to drug abuse. He was then given a suspended sentence since the quantity of substance found in him was small. Furthermore, he explained that he had taken a puff from a cigarette from someone without knowing it had marijuana in it. He said that on suspecting the taste to be different, he threw it away.

2. T.O.P

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Before G-Dragon, BIGBANG's T.O.P, another K-Pop bona fide idol pleaded guilty and received a 10-month jail sentence in 2017. After the news broke out, he also attempted suicide while he was recieving the mandatory military training. Years later, he was quoted as saying, "This is the first time I've spoken about this publicly, but I did try to commit suicide about five years ago. I realised later how much hurt and painful memories I gave to the people around me, my family and fans out there." He was guilty of using marijuana.

3. B.I

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iKON and YG Entertainment expelled B.I (also known as Kim Hanbin) after he admitted to buy marijuana and LSD. The drug accusations first came to limelight in 2019, and in 2021, he was sentenced to four years of probation. He was 19 years old at that time. "He made a mistake out of curiosity. Furthermore, B.I is a first-time defendant with no criminal or civil record, and he has carried out community service as well as nonprofit donations continuously since his debut. The album he recently released is also part of a project to donate all proceeds," his spokesperson said in the court.

4. Blackpink's Rose

Twitter

The vocalist of the popular Korean pop band Blackpink was accused of drug abuse. Later, YG Entertainment the company behind Blackpink threatened legal action against those spreading malicious rumours. "We reveal that the rumors associated with BLACKPINK¡¯s Ros¨¦ that is spreading on various online communities, social media, etc. are clear false information. We are taking legal action against acts that violate the human rights of and defame our agency artists," the statement read.

Knets react to alleged picture of Rose and Kang Dong Wonhttps://t.co/yAITWlILbu pic.twitter.com/fmko8rJIPX

¡ª pannchoa (@pannchoa) April 12, 2023

5. Lee Sun-Kyun

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Lee Sun-Kyun, who essayed the role of Park Dong-ik, the Park family father in the Oscar-winning movie Parasite, was allegedly caught in a drug scandal. It came to light after a Korean portal revealed that a star whose initial starts with L has been named in drug abuse case. Later, a Incheon Police Station representative was quoted as saying, "It was true that Lee Sun Kyun did marijuana, and paid a huge amount of money to his drug dealer. Although we need to investigate, we suspect that the reason for the extortion from his dealer was because of his fame."

In response to the allegations, the actor's agency HODU&U Entertainment in a statement said, "Hello. This is HODU&U Entertainment. First and foremost, we would like to express our sincere apologies for the concerns caused by the reports regarding our artist Lee Sun-kyun. Our company is currently in the process of verifying the specific facts related to the allegations raised against Lee Sun-kyun. We are committed to cooperating fully with any investigations conducted by relevant authorities with utmost sincerity and honesty in the future. Additionally, Lee Sun-kyun has filed a complaint with the law enforcement agency against individual A, who is connected to the incident, for continuous blackmail and threats. Future updates on this matter will be communicated through our legal representative. We ask for your understanding."

6. PSY

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Known for his hot song Gangnum Style, PSY was arrested for illegal consumption of marijuana in the year 2001. Id reports are to be believed, he confessed to the crime and said that he consumed marijuana five times because of the pressure of creating songs in a short span of time. He paid US$5,000 fine.

7. Jung Il-Hoon

Twitter

The member of the K-pop group BTOB was brought to drug trial on suspicion that he smoked and purchased 826 grams of marijuana. He was then two sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for three years of probation, 40 hours of a drug treatment course, and an additional fine of 120 million.

8. Yoo Ah-In

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Yoo Ah-In, best known for the Netflix series Hellbound was accused of using five different drugs including Marijuana, Ketamine, cocaine, propofol and zolpidem among others. He tested positive for cannabis but said that he used other drugs for medical purposes only. The case in ongoing.

9. Ju Ji Hoon

AFP

Known for Kingdom 2 and Hyena, Ju Ji Hoon was sentenced to six months in jail, one year of probation, and 120 hours of volunteer service for the use of drugs. What was shocking in this case was that when Ju Ji Hoon was tested for drugs, the results were negative. Yet, he admitted to have consumed it during the investigation. His lawyer was quoted as saying, "He consumed drugs 1 to 2 times 1 year and 3 to 4 months ago. Since the tests can only detect drugs tracing back to around a year, the tests came back negative."

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