Yang Hyun-seok, accused of covering up B.I investigation, acquitted in first trial

Former YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk, who is accused of engaging in overseas gambling involving hundreds of millions of won, is attending the sentencing hearing held on the 27th at the Western District Court in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Yang Hyun-suk, former CEO of YG Entertainment, who was indicted for allegedly covering up the drug investigation involving former idol group iKON member B.I (real name Kim Han-bin), was acquitted in the first trial.

On the morning of the 22nd, the 23rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jo Byung-gu) acquitted former CEO Yang, who was charged with retaliation threats under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

The court pointed out, "It appears that he persuaded and pressured the victim to retract their testimony in the criminal case," adding, "This is highly condemnable." However, it explained, "Based solely on the evidence presented by the prosecution, it is difficult to recognize that the persuasion and psychological pressure went beyond mere pressure to the point of explicitly and directly threatening the victim with harm such as 'killing you is nothing,'" and "there is no proof that sufficient harm was communicated to induce fear."

At the previous sentencing hearing, the prosecutor requested the court to sentence former CEO Yang to three years in prison, arguing that he had communicated harm that induced fear to the whistleblower.

On the other hand, during the trial, former CEO Yang denied most of the allegations, stating, "(Most of the facts in the indictment) are not true." He claimed, "When I said 'You should be a good kid,' it was out of concern, telling him not to do drugs," and added, "I remember speaking very carefully," and "It is unthinkable that I would say such things."

Earlier, former CEO Yang was indicted on charges of persuading and threatening Mr. A to cover up the investigation into B.I after Mr. A was arrested on drug charges in 2016 and testified to the police about B.I's suspected drug purchases.

At that time, Mr. A raised suspicions that the investigation into B.I was dismissed due to collusion between the police and YG, even though B.I was under investigation for related charges. In particular, he claimed that the police did not investigate despite having evidence of B.I's drug use, and that former CEO Yang was at the center of this. In June 2019, he also reported this to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC).

After receiving materials from the ACRC, the prosecution compiled the investigation results and indicted four people, including B.I and former CEO Yang. The prosecution viewed that former CEO Yang threatened Mr. A by saying, "Killing you in the entertainment industry is nothing, you should be a good kid."

Meanwhile, B.I was belatedly indicted for purchasing drugs such as LSD and marijuana through Mr. A in April 2016 and partially consuming them, and was sentenced to three years in prison with a four-year probation confirmed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.