Park Yu-chun grilled over drug use allegations

Singer Park Yu-chun speaks to reporters as he arrives at Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday, to undergo questioning. / Yonhap

By Kim Jae-heun

Actor and K-pop band JYJ member Park Yu-chun was summoned by police, Wednesday, to be questioned over his alleged drug abuse with former fiancee Hwang Ha-na.

“I will fully cooperate with the investigation,” Park said as he stood in front of some 100 reporters waiting for him at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.

Park did not answer reporters' direct questions about the charges and if he had forced Hwang to take drugs.

Park is suspected of purchasing methamphetamine and using it with Hwang, the granddaughter of Namyang Dairy Products founder Hong Du-yeong, early this year at her residence in Seoul. Hwang has already been arrested and her case was transferred to the prosecution after police questioning where she admitted to some of the charges against her.

Hwang told the police that Park had encouraged her to try methamphetamine and injected her with it while she was asleep. After that, they took the drug together several more times, she said.

Park denied this ever happened and held a press conference last week to claim his innocence, but police searched his house Tuesday, seize his mobile phone and taking a hair sample for drug testing.

Police had asked the prosecution to request a detention warrant for Park from a local court, but as he held the press conference and expressed a willingness to cooperate with the investigation, prosecutors decided not to do so.

Park and Hwang started a relationship in 2016 and announced they would marry in September 2017. But they called the marriage off and broke up the following year.