Opposition party raises questions over timing of probe into celebrity drug use issue

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, left, responds to questions from lawmakers during the National Assembly's audit of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Members of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) have speculated that the Yoon Suk Yeol administration intentionally initiated the current suspected celebrity drug use issue to divert public attention away from unfavorable developments involving the government and ruling People Power Party (PPP).

The ruling bloc dismissed the claims as unsubstantiated and groundless conspiracy theories.

Police have investigated high-profile celebrities, including Ocscar-winning “Parasite” actor Lee Sun-kyun and G-Dragon of boy band Big Bang, over suspected drug use, and the story has grabbed news headlines over recent days.

Some DPK members, including five-term lawmaker An Min-suk, claimed that the ruling bloc used the issue to divert public attention from the government. It suffered a crushing defeat in the Oct. 11 by-election for the head of Seoul’s Gangseo District and has been caught up in a school violence case involving the daughter of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s former secretary.

“Previous administrations have the experience of bringing up issues related to celebrities’ drug use when the administration is in a disadvantageous position, effectively diverting public attention,” Rep. An said during his appearance in a radio interview, Thursday.

“Politics is often referred to as the art of timing, and it is a well-timed statement that is enough to lead people, who are not fools, to believe that someone may have intended and planned it.”

Rep. An claimed the Yoon administration “faced its greatest crisis after taking office after losing the by-election,” suggesting that the celebrity drug use issue being mentioned at exactly this moment, was no coincidence.

Lee Kyung, spokesperson for the largest opposition party, raised a similar view, bringing to light the recent resignation of Kim Seung-hee, the protocol secretary to the president, in the wake of accusations that his daughter had allegedly assaulted a fellow student in a school violence case, resulting in a nine-week long injury for the victim.

“The daughter of the former presidential secretary inflicted significant harm,” she said, alleging that the Yoon administration disclosed the celebrity drug use allegations as a means to redirect public attention away from recent events, including the defeat in the Gangseo District by-election.

The ruling party criticized these assertions, labeling them as “politically motivated attempts to discredit the government and the ruling party without any substantiated evidence or proof.”

Rep. Yun Jae-ok, the floor leader of the PPP, said the DPK’s claims were "baseless conspiracy theories."

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon also said the drug use issue was unrelated to politics.

“Drugs do not understand politics. If that's the case, it's as if they're obsessed with a severe conspiracy theory,” Han said.