[BREAKING] G-Dragon to launch foundation to fight drug addiction

Social Affairs

Published: 21 Dec. 2023, 10:39 Updated: 21 Dec. 2023, 13:44

[BREAKING] G-Dragon to launch foundation to fight drug addiction

Singer G-Dragon at a BMW launching event on March 28 in southern Seoul [NEWS1]

G-Dragon will establish a foundation dedicated to helping drug addicts in 2024, the singer said in a letter to the press after being cleared of all illegal drug use charges by the police earlier this week.

"I have gone through very difficult times this year, as you will know," he said in the letter, read out by executives at his new agency Galaxy Corporation on Thursday in southern Seoul.

"Going through such times, I have seen things I had not seen before and experienced things I hadn't before. There are over 20,000 drug users in Korea, and less than 500 of them get proper treatment. Proper action must be taken, especially for the younger people exposed to dangers and people who do not realize the dangers."

The agency, an AI metaverse startup, addressed the recent drug scandal in which G-Dragon was embroiled in a press conference on Thursday morning at the JW Marriott Hotel in southern Seoul.

The singer was not present.

Cho Sung-hae, chief ESG officer at G-Dragon's new agency Galaxy Corporation, reads the company's statement in a press conference held on Thursday at JW Marriott Hotel in southern Seoul. [NEWS1]

Cho Sung-hae, chief ESG officer at G-Dragon's new agency Galaxy Corporation, reads the company's statement in a press conference held on Thursday at JW Marriott Hotel in southern Seoul. [YOON SO-YEON]

"G-Dragon has been cleared of all charges against his drug use, and we ask for your support in his new path to come," Cho Sung-hae, chief ESG officer of the company, told reporters.

"We will give a week until Dec. 28 for anyone to delete or change online posts containing false accusations. Afterward, we will take a no-tolerance policy and take firm measures."

According to Cho, the police officially closed the case on G-Dragon on Monday.

G-Dragon has been denying all accusations since he was booked on suspicion of illegal drug use on Oct. 25.

An investigation began after a manager at a nightclub claimed she "saw a strange package" at the toilet of a bar after G-Dragon came out from the room and that he had "acted strange" afterward in December last year.

However, all tests on his fingernails, toenails and hair have come back negative, and the police decided not to hand his file to the prosecution.

G-Dragon debuted as a member of the boy band Big Bang in 2006 under YG Entertainment. The band saw sensational success throughout the late 2000s and early 2010s. His exclusive contract with YG Entertainment ended in June.

He was previously questioned for alleged marijuana use in 2011 by the prosecution, but his indictment was suspended at the time after he confessed to having inhaled the substance unintentionally.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]