Police Request Arrest Warrant for Yoo Ah-in on Charges of Using Five Types of Drugs

Actor Yoo Ah-in (real name Eom Hong-sik), who is accused of using drugs such as marijuana, propofol, cocaine, and ketamine, is seen bowing his head as he leaves the Drug Crime Investigation Unit at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency after completing a police investigation on the afternoon of the 27th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 19th, the police filed an arrest warrant request for actor Yoo Ah-in (37, real name Eom Hong-sik) on suspicion of drug use.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit announced that they requested an arrest warrant for Yoo on charges of using five types of narcotics, including marijuana, propofol, cocaine, ketamine, and zolpidem (violation of the Narcotics Control Act, etc.).

The police judged that Yoo mostly denied the charges, raising concerns about evidence destruction and flight risk, and deemed it necessary to conduct a detention investigation. This comes 103 days after the police began the investigation by analyzing Yoo's hair samples.

Whether Yoo will be detained is expected to be decided after the prosecution files the warrant with the court and the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) takes place early next week.

The police began the investigation after receiving records from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety last year showing that Yoo had been administered over 4,400 ml of propofol in 73 instances throughout 2021.

On February 5th, immediately after Yoo returned from the United States, the police collected urine and hair samples and requested a detailed analysis from the National Forensic Service. The analysis detected four types of narcotics?marijuana, propofol, cocaine, and ketamine?in Yoo's urine and hair.

Subsequently, suspicions increased to five types of narcotics after evidence emerged from Yoo's medical records indicating that zolpidem, a psychotropic drug, was prescribed for non-medical purposes.

Yoo appeared twice as a suspect before the police on March 27th and April 16th, undergoing lengthy interrogations. He denies most charges except for some marijuana smoking.

It is reported that Yoo claimed propofol and ketamine were used for treatment purposes and especially denied using cocaine.

Among the narcotics Yoo is suspected of using, propofol, ketamine, and zolpidem are psychotropic drugs used for anesthesia and sleep induction.

The police are also investigating four associates, including artist A, a fine arts graduate, who are suspected of assisting or directly administering narcotics to Yoo.

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