Drug Use Conviction for Yoo Ah-in, Appeals Court Hears Plea for Leniency Saying "Not a Malicious Violation"

"Not an Intentional Violation of the Law" Appeals for Leniency

Actor Yoo Ah-in (38, real name Eom Hong-sik), who was sentenced to prison in the first trial for habitual drug use, has appealed for leniency in the appellate court.

Yoo Ah-in's legal representative stated at the first hearing of the second trial held on the 29th at the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 5 (Presiding Judges Kwon Soon-hyung, Ahn Seung-hoon, Shim Seung-woo), "Mr. Yoo did not maliciously violate the law or regulations by exploiting loopholes, but had developed a dependency on sleeping anesthetics due to already being in a physically and mentally difficult situation," and argued, "The original sentence is excessively harsh and unjust."

Actor Yoo Ah-in (real name Eom Hong-sik), who was indicted on charges of habitual propofol abuse, is attending the first trial sentencing hearing held on September 3 at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

He added, "Mr. Yoo had been visiting a psychiatric clinic even before the investigation into this case began, trying to resolve his sleep disorder in a healthy way," and "He is currently experiencing significant therapeutic effects, overcoming his dependency on sleeping anesthetics."

On the day, Yoo Ah-in appeared at the court dressed in a suit without a tie and did not make any particular statements. The court plans to hold one more hearing on the 19th of next month to further hear both parties' opinions.

Yoo Ah-in is accused of habitually using medical propofol and other drugs 181 times at hospitals around Seoul from September 2020 to March 2022 under the pretext of sleep anesthesia. He is also charged with illegally obtaining and purchasing over 1,100 sleeping pills of two types under other people's names 44 times from May 2021 to August last year. In January of this year, he is also accused of smoking marijuana three times in the United States with acquaintances and instructing others to smoke.

Previously, the first trial court recognized all charges against Yoo Ah-in, including marijuana smoking, habitual use of medical narcotics, and habitual purchase under others' names, as guilty. However, the court acquitted him of the charge of instructing marijuana smoking and the charge of instructing evidence destruction by asking acquaintances to delete phone contents when the investigation began, citing lack of evidence. He was sentenced to one year in prison, fined 2 million won, ordered to complete 80 hours of drug rehabilitation education, and fined an additional 1.54 million won in confiscation.

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