Yoo Ah-in drug scandal: Prosecutors raise additional charges and seek arrest warrant

Things have swiftly taken a turn for the worst following his apology in March.

A second arrest warrant has been sought against South Korean actor Yoo Ah-in today (Sept 18).

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office raised additional charges against the 36-year-old for allegedly attempting to “have evidence destroyed” and coercing people into smoking marijuana.

The prosecution stated: “We decided to reapply for the arrest warrant because we believe that Yoo Ah-in committed the serious crime of obstructing justice by sharing the status of the investigation with his accomplices and others in real time, destroying evidence, and convincing or threatening his accomplices to flee overseas or change their statements.”

As of writing, Ah-in’s management, United Artist Agency, has yet to release a statement.

He was reportedly banned from leaving the country and under police investigations for drug abuse in February this year.

He tested positive for marijuana shortly after, and police reported that he was administered propofol, an anaesthetic drug commonly used in surgeries, 73 times in 2021.

After drug tests and police investigations, Ah-in was charged with habitually taking more than eight types of drugs which violated the Narcotics Control Act.

Prosecutors accused him of getting injections of propofol or other medical-purposed drugs on about 200 occasions at clinics across Seoul since 2020 under the pretext of undergoing cosmetic procedures. According to them, all the injections Ah-in received were worth about 500 million won (S$514,000).

He also allegedly used other people’s names to illegally purchase around 1,000 sleeping pills, and used cocaine, marijuana and other drugs together with four others while in the US in January.

In May, prosecutors filed the first arrest warrant, citing his risk to flee or destroy evidence after two rounds of questioning, but it was rejected by the district court.

In recent years, Ah-in is best known for the zombie film #Alive (2020) and the drama series Hellbound (2021).