B.I., former songwriting leader of K-pop boy band iKON, has been questioned about drug allegations and admitted to some of them, police said Wednesday. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency summoned the singer, whose real name is Kim Han-bin, on Tuesday and grilled him over whether he consumed marijuana he purchased from an acquaintance in 2016. During the 14-hour questioning, he admitted to some of the suspicions and the police converted his status to suspect from reference witnesses. “I’m sorry for causing problems,” Kim told reporters when leaving the police office on Tuesday.
Kim’s admission will help the police accelerate their probe into the drug scandal involving Kim and Yang Hyun-suk, then the chief of the band’s label, YG Entertainment. The acquaintance, who allegedly sold the banned substance to the singer, initially told the police during interrogation about drug charges in 2016 that Kim asked her to procure marijuana, but she subsequently reversed her testimony. In June this year, however, she came forward and disclosed through a government commission that Yang goaded and pressed her into reversing her police testimony in 2016. Investigators recently summoned her to look into the accusations against both Kim and Yang.
When the drug allegations hit the media in June, B.I left iKON, a move immediately followed by the resignation of Yang as CEO of the entertainment firm. Yang is the subject of a separate police investigation into overseas gambling and other matters.
Source: The Korea Times
