K-pop star G-Dragon is under investigation for alleged drug use, police said on Oct 26, 2023, becoming the latest in a string of South Korean entertainers to face such a probe. Photo: AFP
K-pop star G-Dragon on Friday (Oct 27) flatly denied rumours that he had used illegal drugs.
“First of all, I have not taken any drugs,” the former member of K-pop group BigBang said in a statement released by his attorney to South Korean media outlets, refuting the accusation point-blank.
“I am also unrelated to the drug use act violation case that was being reported in the news recently,” he reiterated.
“However, as many people are worried, I will fully cooperate and do the best I can in the police investigation.”
The 35-year-old rapper and singer-songwriter, whose real name is Kwon Ji-yong, was reportedly booked without detention on Wednesday by the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act.
According to the reports, G-Dragon’s name came up amid a police bust into an illegal drug distribution ring in Seoul’s Gangnam area.
South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, who starred in the Oscar-winning film Parasite (2019) and the recent mystery thriller Sleep (2023), was also indicted for a drug offence in relation to the ring.
However, police denied that G-Dragon and Lee, 48, were directly involved with each other, and said they were investigating the two cases separately.
Local media have reported that a doctor, who allegedly supplied the unspecified illicit substances without charge to Kwon and Lee, has also been booked without detention.
Parasite actor Lee Sun-kyun stands accused of using marijuana and other psychoactive drugs. Photo: AFP
G-Dragon was embroiled in another drug use case in 2011. He was suspected of smoking marijuana, but the prosecutors closed the case with a suspension of indictment.
Earlier in 2023, he had officially stated he was preparing to make a comeback under BigBang’s agency YG Entertainment, but the plan seems to have been indefinitely postponed for undisclosed reasons.
YG Entertainment on Wednesday declined to comment on G-Dragon’s police indictment, as he is no longer contracted to the company. – The Korea Herald/Asia News Network
