Wandering with money and fame makes artists vulnerable to being trapped in drug circles. Not to mention artists from the big 3 South Korean agencies, such as YG Entertainment who are also victims of drug traps and forced to deal with the police. Plunging into the world of entertainment, artists are demanded to be perfect and able to get along with various groups. This is usually the main reason that triggers the occurrence of narcotics abuse. In this article, Channel-Korea will introduce you to YG Entertainment artists who have been caught in a drug-related scandal. Starting from Bigbang’s G-Dragon and T.O.P, 2NE1’s Park Bom, and now iKon’s former member B.I. So, keep reading and stay tuned!
YG Artists and Their Drugs Scandals
The controversy over drug use is nothing new for artists who are under YG Entertainment. Several times, artists have been mentioned in reports related to the use of illegal drugs. Because of the frequency, there is a message that YG stands for “yak-guk” which means “drug store.” Their involvement with medicines apparently could not be separated from the role of the founder of YG Entertainment, Yang Hyun-suk. This was only revealed when Kim Han-bin’s drug scandal spread. Yang Hyun-suk’s role was revealed by a woman named Han Seo-hee. Han Seo-hee is a friend and a person who supplies marijuana to Kim Han-bin since April 2016. When interrogated for the first time, Han Seo-hee admitted that she used marijuana with B.I. She explained chronologically in detail including the time, date and location of the incident. She also said that B.I specifically requested Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) from her. Here’s the “history” of YG Entertainment artists and their drug scandals!
GD’s Marijuana Scandal
G-Dragon is known as a top star with a series of achievements that need not be doubted. However, he is also known as a controversial figure. He has had a series of scandals that are of public concern, ranging from marijuana cases, love relationships, to military service scandal. In 2011, G-Dragon was known to have smoked marijuana after performing in Japan. He said he did not know that what he smoked was marijuana because he had never consumed the item. According to him, he only accepted it when someone came and gave the cigarette to him. He did not refuse because he felt he would act disrespectfully. “I was under the influence of alcohol and I feel cigarettes are very strong. I never smelled it before, so I can’t tell the difference. It’s like a cigarette that I usually smoke,” he said on the television show Healing Camp.
Park Bom’s Drug Scandal
While still under YG Entertainment, former 2NE1 girl group member, Park Bom, was caught in a drug incident. She was caught trying to smuggle amphetamines from the United States to Korea through a mail delivery service, FedEx. These amphetamine pills were addressed to Park Bom’s relatives. However, through eviction, it was proven that the pills were intended for the singer. This case was also brought to court. However, Park Bom was not sentenced to bars because the prosecutor decided to suspend the case. Yang Hyun-suk as CEO of YG Entertainment once made a statement explaining this issue. He said, Park Bom only consumes amphetamine as a drug prescribed from the hospital. “Until four years ago, Park Bom took a formally prescribed drug from a hospital in the United States. But she could not go there because of her busy schedule. However, this turned out to be a problem because the drug was banned in South Korea,” said YG Entertainment’s boss. Because of this case, Park Bom had taken away quite a long time from the entertainment world.
T.O.P’s Drug Scandal
BIGBANG’s oldest member who is better known as the main rapper and visual of the group, T.O.P, once attracted public attention because he was involved in a marijuana-related case. In February 2016, T.O.P was found guilty of smoking marijuana four times in his apartment. He was also known to have been with a female trainee, Han Seo-hee, when he smoked marijuana. The singer of “Doom Dada” has apologized to his fans. “I believe I must be punished for hurting the members (BIGBANG), labels, public, fans who respect me, and my family. My heart is hurt and I am very disappointed in myself,” he wrote. This then had an impact on the mandatory military life of the BIGBANG’s main rapper. Even though he has entered the military since February 2017, T.O.P was briefly dismissed from his duties due to this case. In January 2018, he finally resumed his military service. However, he changed duties, from a police officer to a public service officer.
B.I’s Drug Scandal
The involvement of iKon’s B.I in a drug scandal came as quite the shock for K-Pop fans. The scandal of the owner of the full name Kim Han-bin was revealed as a result of his telephone conversation with a woman with the initial A, a suspected drug dealer. In the April 2016 conversation, iKon’s B.I bought the drug Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Although he was not positive for using drugs, he also did not argue that he had intended to use the drug to go through the difficult times he experienced. “It’s true that I want to rely on something I shouldn’t be interested in because of a difficult and painful period. However, I was too scared and afraid to do it. Even so, I was very embarrassed and apologized to fans who were very disappointed and hurt by words and my actions are wrong. I intend to reflect humbly on my mistakes and leave the group. Once again, I bow my head and sincerely apologize to fans and members. I’m sorry,” wrote the former iKON leader on his personal Instagram.
