Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Park Yoo-chun apologizes for lying about drug use
Former JYJ member Park Yoo-chun speaks to reporters in front of Nambu Police Agency in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Friday, before being sent to prosecutors for his alleged illegal drug use. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
By Bahk Eun-ji
Former K-pop boy band JYJ member Park Yoo-chun has admitted to using illegal drugs a number of times since last summer, police said Friday.
He also apologized to the public for lying about the allegation, about three weeks after he claimed his innocence in a press conference.
“I wanted to apologize to many people for lying,” Park told reporters as he left Nambu Police Agency in Suwon to be transferred to a prosecution detention center for further questioning.
“I'm willing to receive punishment for what I did, and will live my life in regret,” Park told reporters when he came out of the police station.
The 33-year-old is accused of having purchased 1.5 grams of methamphetamine over three times with his ex-fiancee Hwang Ha-na, the granddaughter of the founder of Namyang Dairy Products, and using the drug with her at her home on a number of occasions between February and March this year.
Park also allegedly used the drug alone at his home in southern Seoul last summer. He told police that Hwang gave him the drug at the time, saying he started to use it out of curiosity.
Police began investigating Park after they arrested Hwang last month. She told police that she used the drug with him.
Until recently he strongly denied the allegation, holding a press conference on April 10 to declare his innocence. Regarding CCTV footage showing him sending money to a dealer at a bank and picking up a suspected drug package in a remote location, he claimed he sent the money at Hwang's request and did not know the package contained drugs.
His denial continued even after he tested positive in a drug test.
Park announced plans to marry Hwang in 2017, but later called off the marriage and they broke up in 2018. Police confirmed they visited each other's houses after breaking up.