Police investigate claims of drug use, violence by Nam Tae-hyun, Seo Min-jae

Seo Min-jae, left, and Nam Tae-hyun in an Instagram post uploaded by Seo Min-jae on Aug. 20 [SCREEN CAPTURE OF SEO MIN-JAE'S INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT]

Police are investigating the claims of drug use and violence surrounding former Winner member Nam Tae-hyun and reality dating show "Heart Signal 3" participant Seo Min-jae.

The claim was made by Seo, on Saturday night, through her Instagram post.

"Nam Tae-hyun did Philopon [methamphetamine]," Seo wrote. "I have his syringe somewhere in my room or in the cabinet at my workplace. He also hit me. Nam Tae-hyun and I are drug addicts."

She posted a photo of her and Nam along with the claim.

The post has since been deleted, but some people who saw it reported it to the police.

The police on Sunday said that it has has begun investigating the case "to see if there is any truth to the allegations."

Nam's agency has not made any clear statements as of Sunday afternoon, other than that it is checking whether the claims are true with the artist.

Seo and Nam are co-owners of a cafe slash bar in Yongsan District, central Seoul. The two were not publicly known to be a couple before this incident.

Seo was a participant on the third season of Channel A's dating reality show "Heart Signal" which aired in 2020.

Nam debuted as a K-pop singer in 2013 as a member of boy band Winner. He left the group in 2016 and founded his own music label The South in 2017.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]