‘BI I Drug Investigation Cover-up’ Yang Hyun-seok Sentenced to 6 Months in Prison and 1 Year Probation in Second Trial

Yang Hyun-suk, former CEO of YG Entertainment, was found guilty in the second trial for allegedly covering up the drug investigation involving B.I (real name Kim Han-bin), a former member of the idol group iKON.

Former YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk, who was indicted on charges of threatening a whistleblower to cover up singer B.I's drug investigation, is heading to the courtroom to attend the appellate trial sentencing hearing held on the afternoon of the 8th at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 6-3 (Presiding Judges Lee Eui-young, Won Jong-chan, Park Won-cheol) on the 8th sentenced Yang, who was charged with coercion to meet under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, to six months in prison with a one-year probation.

Yang was prosecuted on charges of persuading and threatening Mr. A, who was arrested on drug charges in 2016 and testified to the police about B.I’s suspected drug purchases, to obstruct the investigation into B.I.

At the time, Mr. A raised suspicions that although B.I was under investigation for related charges, the investigation was dismissed due to collusion between the police and YG. In particular, he claimed that the police had obtained evidence of B.I’s drug involvement but did not investigate, with Yang at the center of this. In June 2019, he also reported this to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

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

The first trial acquitted Yang. The court stated, "Although it appears that the victim was persuaded and pressured to retract statements in the criminal case, it is difficult to recognize from the evidence presented by the prosecution that the persuasion and psychological pressure went beyond that to directly and specifically threaten the victim by saying, ‘Killing you is nothing.’" Therefore, Yang was acquitted.

In response, the prosecution added the charge of coercion to meet as a preliminary charge in the second trial, and ultimately secured a guilty verdict in the appellate court.

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