Singer Crown J caught for smoking marijuana

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Singer Crown J, 31, was apprehended for smoking marijuana while staying overseas, Sunday, another case of an entertainer’s drug use revealed over the weekend.

The drug squad of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) booked the singer whose real name is Kim Kye-hoon without detention for smoking marijuana several times.

According to the police, Crown J stayed in the United States from May 2009 to October 2010 to record his new album and smoked marijuana, which he obtained there, five times at his home in Atlanta, Ga. and other places.

However, the rapper admitted only using the drug once or twice. The police are investigating further to find if any other entertainers or related people have smoked the drug with Crown J in the U.S.

Crown J debuted in 2006 with his first album “One & Only” and his second, “Miss Me?” was released in 2007. He became more famous when he appeared on the reality show “We Got Married” with Seo In-young, a former member of the group Jewelry, in 2008. Later he released a digital single with Seo titled “Too Much.”

The singer’s marijuana use was a great shock to his fans and television viewers as it came right after actor Kim Sung-min’s arrest for methamphetamine use on Saturday.

The actor was apprehended on charges of smuggling and habitually taking methamphetamine. He was immediately excluded from KBS’s Sunday show “Qualifications of a Man.” The drug squad of SMPA said the cases of Kim and Crown J are separate and no other entertainers have been implicated in the cases as of now.

Drug use has been a method of escape for Korean entertainers although illegally. Several entertainers have been caught for drug use in the past and it took an average of 40 months for them to return to the entertainment business.

Actress Hwang Su-jung was caught using amphetamine in November 2001 and it took about five years for her to return to the small screen. Another actress Sung Hyun-ah was caught for taking ecstasy in 2002 and singer Psy was found smoking marijuana.

Another actress, Kim Boo-seon also called for the legalization of marijuana and caused a public uproar in 2009. Singer Shin Hae-chul, also caught for drug use, insisted that marijuana should be legalized in Korea as well.

크라운제이 대마초 입건

가수 크라운제이가 외국에 체류하면서 대마초를 피운 혐의로 불구속 입건됐으며 다른 연예인 1명도 마약 복용으로 입건됐다.

서울경찰청 마약수사대는 크라운제이가 지난해 5월부터 최근까지 미국 애틀랜타에 있는 자신의 집 등에서 대마초를 상습적으로 피운 사실을 확인하고 2일 오전 인천국제공항 입국장에서 그를 체포했다.

2006년 데뷔한 크라운제이는 2008년 MBC ’우리 결혼했어요’를 통해 큰 인기를 얻었고, 직후 전 소속사를 나와 독자적으로 가수 활동을 해왔다. 지난해 직접 연예기획사를 설립한 그는 미국에서 싱글을 발표하고 현지 클럽 등에서 활동해 왔으며, 국내에는 좀처럼 모습을 드러내지 않았다.

경찰은 크라운제이를 상대로 대마초 구입 경위와 다른 연예인들도 연루됐는지 여부를 추가로 조사할 방침이다.

한편 크라운제이는 경찰에서 "최근 한 두 번 피워봤을 뿐"이라고 강조한 것으로 알려졌다.