Drug overdose puts BIGBANG's T.O.P in hospital intensive care
By Ko Dong-hwan
Choi Seung-hyun leaves Gangnam Police Station in Seoul on June 5 after his mandatory military service as a conscripted policeman was put on hold following a drug charge. / Yonhap
K-pop singer and actor T.O.P has been hospitalized for an apparent drug overdose, only a day after he was indicted for taking an illegal drug.
The star, 29, whose name is Choi Seung-hyun, is receiving treatment in a Seoul hospital’s intensive care unit, according to his agency YG Entertainment.
The agency first reported that Choi was found unconscious, but police said he was not in a critical condition.
A police official said that an examination showed Choi had no serious problems and was reacting to stimulus. The official said Choi did not need a stretcher and was helped into the hospital.
Police said Choi appeared to have overdosed on prescribed tranquilizers. He took the pills about 10 p.m. Monday but did not wake up by noon the next day. Worried friends took him to hospital.
“Choi isn't in a critical condition, and he is just sleeping right now since the medication he took contains sleeping pill ingredients," the official said. "Once the effects of the medication wear off after one or two days, he will be fine."
The incident happened a day after he was indicted without detention on charges of smoking marijuana. Seoul prosecutors said on May 31 Choi is suspected of smoking the banned drug four times with a singer trainee, 21, at his home in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, last October.
Choi has been serving his mandatory military service as a policeman since February. He had worked at the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul but was transferred to a police corps in eastern Seoul following the indictment.
His military service has been put on hold until the court’s verdict. If he receives a jail term of 18 months or more, he will be dishonorably discharged.