Former YG Entertainment CEO Hyunsuk Yang allegedly covered up the drug issue of B.I. He is now facing charges of threatening a witness to reverse the statements. But, Hyunsuk Yang denies all the allegations, claiming that he is innocent.
Former YG Entertainment CEO Hyunsuk Yang, indicted on charges of reversing the investigation of B.I (real name Hanbin Kim), a former iKON, under suspicion of drug use, said in the first trial, “I never threatened or coerced. I pleaded not guilty.”
On August 13th, the 23rd Criminal Settlement Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Younggeun Yoo) held the first trial preparation date for former CEO Yang, who has charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (threat of retaliation, etc.). On the preparation date, the defendant was not obligated to attend. So, Hyunsuk Yang and other persons involved did not appear.
Prosecutors revealed the facts of the charges. They claim that “Former CEO Yang summoned Mr. A, a public interest informant, to the YG office building. He threatened and persuaded him to ‘reverse the statement.'”
The prosecution also said, “Ex-CEO Yang threatened Mr. A, saying, ‘It’s not even about killing you,’ and forced him to reverse his statement.”
In response, Hyunsuk Yang’s lawyer claimed innocence, saying, “It is true that I met and talked with the public interest informant A at the time. But, I have never threatened or coerced him to make a false statement, such as the indictment.”
The lawyer continued, “We are reviewing evidence workers by obtaining evidence records. But, there are charges of separate cases that have not been prosecuted.”
Reports said that the evidence record of Yang’s case is about 8,800 pages, equivalent to 20 books.
The court said, “Despite the simple case, there are many things to judge under various circumstances. So, it isn’t easy to prove. We don’t want time to go by, so please let’s finished it within this year.”
The second trial preparation date for former CEO Hyunsuk Yang and others will occur at 11 am on September 17th.
In August 2016, former CEO Hyunsuk Yang was handed over to trial on charges of threatening and forcing Mr. A about the charge that B.I purchased and used drugs.
Mr. A raised the suspicion that B.I was on the line of investigation on allegations related to it, but the court dismissed the investigation due to the close relationship between the police and YG. So, he insisted that the police did not investigate the B.I drug situation even after securing it, and that Hyunsuk Yang was at the center of it.
In this regard, Mr. A reported this to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) in June 2019. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission handed over the relevant data to the prosecution last year. Prosecutors combined the results of the investigation and handed over four people, including B.I and former CEO Yang, to trial. They excluded Mr. A from the prosecution.
Meanwhile, B.I faced charges of purchasing drugs such as LSD and cannabis through Mr. A in April 2016 and using some of them several times. So, his first trial will take place on August 27th.
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