Supreme Court to rule on Yoo Ah-in’s drug abuse case on July 3

Actor Yoo Ah-in / Yonhap

The Supreme Court will deliver a final verdict next month in the drug abuse case involving actor Yoo Ah-in, who faces multiple charges related to habitual use of medical narcotics.

According to legal sources, the Supreme Court, presided over by Justice Ma Yong-joo, has scheduled Yoo’s sentencing for 10:10 a.m. on July 3.

Yoo was initially sentenced to one year in prison by a lower court in September 2023 and taken into custody. However, in February 2024, the appeals court suspended the sentence and granted him a two-year probation.

Yoo stands accused of administering four types of medical narcotics — propofol, midazolam, ketamine and remimazolam — a total of 181 times between September 2020 and March 2022.

He also allegedly obtained more than 1,100 sleeping pills through 44 illegal prescriptions by using others’ names between May 2021 and August 2023.

In addition, prosecutors say Yoo smoked marijuana in the U.S. in January 2023 with others, including an acquaintance surnamed Choi, and incited others to do so as well.

The upcoming Supreme Court decision will mark the conclusion of a high-profile legal battle that has drawn national attention due to Yoo’s celebrity status and the gravity of the drug-related charges.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.