Actor Yoo Ah-in sentenced to year in prison for drug use

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Actor Yoo Ah-in sentenced to year in prison for drug use

Published: 03 Sep. 2024, 15:07 Updated: 19 Sep. 2024, 10:28

Actor Yoo Ah-in attends a court ruling at Seoul Central District Court, Seocho District, southern Seoul on Sept. 3. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced actor Yoo Ah-in, whose real name is Uhm Hong-sik, to one year in prison for violating the Narcotics Control Act after an 11-month trial on Tuesday.

Yoo, 37, was also fined 2 million won ($1,940) and ordered to forfeit 1.54 million won. The actor was also ordered to attend 80 hours of drug rehabilitation education. The court ruled him guilty on three counts of smoking marijuana and the chronic use and purchase of illegal drugs. The actor was immediately taken into custody upon the court ruling.

On Oct. 19 of last year, Yoo was indicted for illegal use of propofol, a medical anesthetic, administered 181 times between September 2020 and March 2022. The actor was also accused of illegally purchasing over 1,100 tablets of two types of sleeping pills under other people's names on 44 occasions between May 2021 and August 2022.

The actor was also indicted for destroying evidence for allegedly telling people "to delete phone records."

Yoo additionally faced charges related to smoking marijuana with an acquaintance named Choi in the United States in January 2023 and allegedly encouraging a YouTuber who was present to use the drug to make them an accomplice. Choi, known to be an artist, was also indicted for allegedly partaking in coercing and threatening the YouTuber to leave Korea and retract their statement.

However, Tuesday's ruling found Yoo not guilty of coercion or destruction of evidence, citing a lack of evidence.

Actor Yoo Ah-in arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul on March 5, to attend his inaugural hearing on allegations of drug use. [YONHAP]

Yoo admitted to developing a dependence on the drug but stated that the medication was prescribed as part of his medical treatment during his second hearing on Jan. 23. The actor also admitted to having used marijuana himself, but denied the coercion charges.

"Yoo went through various medical procedures, which resulted in a high dependency on sleep-inducing anesthesia," Yoo’s attorney said at the time. “The actor owns up to the fact that he used drugs during the medical procedure and deeply regrets his actions."

Prosecutors sought a four-year prison sentence for Yoo, along with a fine of 2 million won and forfeiture of 1.54 million won on July 24. A doctor who was indicted for administering propofol to Yoo was given a prison sentence of one year and two months, suspended for two years, on April 25.

Actor Yoo Ah-in attends his final trial for drug charges at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on July 24.[YONHAP]

Yoo's sentence was three years less than the sentence sought by prosecutors, with the court saying the actor's prolonged depression and lack of sleep motivated him to take the drugs. "Yoo's honest confession of drug dependency and his efforts to overcome his dependency" were cited as mitigating factors.

Yoo was investigated on Aug. 28 for allegedly raping a man in his 30s while the man was asleep at a studio apartment in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on July 14. Under current law, same-sex rape cases fall under the category of "imitative rape," which is punishable by imprisonment for a minimum of two years.

Update, Sept.3: Added details from Tuesday's court ruling.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]