Court Denies Arrest Warrant for Singer Nam Taehyun on Methamphetamine Use Charges

Arrest warrants for singer Nam Taehyun and broadcaster Seo Minjae, who are accused of using methamphetamine, were dismissed.

Singer Nam Taehyun, a former idol accused of methamphetamine use, is attending a pre-trial detention hearing at the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo-gu on the 18th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 18th, Song Kyungho, the chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Western District Court, conducted a pre-arrest detention hearing for Nam and Seo, then dismissed the warrants, stating, "They have fixed residences, and it is difficult to see any risk of evidence tampering or flight." The court added regarding Nam, "At this stage, detention would be an excessive restriction on the right to defense."

Nam appeared at the Seoul Western District Court that morning for the warrant hearing and responded "I'm sorry" when asked if he admitted the charges before entering the courtroom. Seo, who arrived shortly after, answered "Yes. I'm sorry" to the same question and said, "I will cooperate sincerely with the investigation."

The Yongsan Police Station in Seoul applied for arrest warrants for the two on the 15th on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act. Seo had posted and then deleted messages on Instagram last August such as "Nam Taehyun meth use" and "There is a syringe used for (drug) injection in my room or company cabinet." The police opened an investigation following reports from netizens who saw the posts.

In addition to drug use charges, Nam was transferred to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in March on suspicion of drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act after drinking alcohol and driving in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Nam was active in the idol group WINNER from 2014 to 2016. After leaving WINNER, he formed a band called South Club. Seo appeared on Channel A's variety show "Heart Signal" Season 3 in 2020.

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