South Korean actor Yoo Ah-in, who is currently facing charges for illegal drug use, has claimed that the drugs used were for a “medical procedure”.
Yoo Ah-in attended his second hearing for his ongoing illegal drug use case today (January 23) at the Seoul Central District Court. The actor is also facing charges for allegedly tampering with evidence and inviting another person to smoke marijuana with him, per Korea JoongAng Daily.
During the hearing, Yoo Ah-in’s attorney claimed that the actor has been “suffering from depression, panic disorder and sleeping disorders” due to his life as someone who is “in the public eye”.
His attorney added that the actor had “went through various medical procedures, which resulted in a high dependency on sleep-inducing anesthesia”.
“However, the anesthesia was prescribed along with the procedures. Anesthesia alone was never prescribed,” the attorney added. “The type of anesthesia to be used was selected under professional supervision by the doctor.”
Yoo Ah-in’s attorney argued that the actor’s use of drugs in such a situation “does not fall under violating the Narcotics Control Act and should be treated as an exceptional case”.
Elsewhere during the hearing, the actor admitted to having used marijuana, while denying the allegation that he had invited someone else along. Korea JoongAng Daily also reported that Yoo had denied “most other allegations” during the actor’s first hearing.
Yoo Ah-in had first tested positive for propofol and marijuana in February 2023 as part of a police investigation into his alleged non-medical use of the anaesthetic.
The actor was later dropped from Netflix‘s K-drama Hellbound in March 2023 amid the investigation, and was subsequently indicted without detention in October the same year.
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