Anim na buwang pagkakakulong at isang taong probation period ang naging hatol ng Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 6-3 sa dating CEO ng YG Entertainment na si Yang Hyun Suk.
Ito'y matapos siyang mahatulang guilty sa kasong threats of retaliation o paglabag sa Act on the Enhanced Punishment for Certain Crimes.
Ang kaso ni Hyun Suk ay nagsimula noong August 23, 2016 nang arestuhin ng awtoridad si Han Seo Hee, ang noo’y YG Entertainment trainee dahil sa paggamit nito ng illegal drugs.
Nadawit ang pangalan dito ni Kim Hanbin a.k.a B.I, ang dating leader ng South Korean boy group na iKON.
Read: K-pop group iKON leaves YG Entertainment
Itinuro si B.I noon ng dating trainee na si Seo Hee, na isa ring gumagamit ng ipinagbabawal na gamot kalakip ang rebelasyon nitong sa kanya pa ito personal na kumukuha’t bumibili.
Hindi nagtagal ang akusasyong ito dahil agad ding binawi ni Seo Hee ang kanyang naunang pahayag, kasabay ng paglabas ng statement ng YG Entertainment sa pamumuno noon ni Hyun Suk na walang katotohanan ang ibinibintang kay B.I.
“YG Entertainment is strictly managing drug usage for all artists. B.I is not connected to the 2016 drug case.
“YG purchases a simple drug test kit every 2 months from the United States and tests our artists.
“iKON members all received a drug test prior to their promotions. Including B.I, none of the members showed any signs of drugs at that time,” pahayag noon ng YG Entertainment base sa English translation ng Koreaboo.
Nagpatuloy ang imbestigasyon ng awtoridad kung saan dito ay nalaman nilang tinakot ni Hyun Suk si Seo Hee na kakasuhan niya ito ng libel at sisirain niya ang career ng K-pop trainee kung hindi nito babawiin ang nauna niyang akusasyon laban kay B.I.
Pinatotohanan din ito ni Seo Hee nang maglabas siya ng pahayag tungkol sa ginawang pananakot sa kanya ni Hyun Suk.
Aniya sa kanyang statement, “Yang Hyun Suk took my cell phone and turned it off. He asked me what I said at the police station. I said that he [B.I] smoked marijuana and attempted to purchase LSD.
“Yang Hyun Suk said that he hates the idea of his boys getting investigated. He also said they got rid of all of the traces of drugs from his body, so there would be no way he could test positive.
“I remember him telling me ‘Hey, Han Seo Hee! You need to be a nice girl. You can’t be a bad girl right… You dream is to be a singer right? Then you need to stay in the entertainment industry. But it’s really easy for me to just ruin you.’
“He told me to change my statement. He said he is someone who can see all of the police reports. He told me he would give me a lawyer and pay for the lawyer’s services too. I was scared. I didn’t have a choice.”
Read: Police raid K-pop agency YG Entertainment over illegal gambling allegations
Samantala, noong June 14, 2019 nang mag-resign sa pagiging CEO si Hyun Suk dahil sa dami ng kontrobersiyang kinakaharap noon ng kanyang talent management at artists.
Read: YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun Suk resigns from all positions amid drug, sex scandals