YG Entertainment's CEO, Yang Hyun-suk, sentenced to six months of imprisonment and one year probation following his threatening allegations

On Wednesday, November 8, the Seoul High Court held an appeal hearing regarding Yang Hyun-suk's charges of threat of retaliation towards the informant of B.I's drug usage allegations. The trial came to an end with the CEO being found guilty of the charges and receiving a sentence of six months in jail and a year on probation.

Back in 2016, a former YG Entertainment trainee, Han Seo-hee, was arrested by the police after finding evidence of her drug usage. The investigations for the same led to the discovery of B.I's alleged drug purchase from Han Seo-hee.

The trainee soon changed her statement denying B.I's purchases and YG Entertainment also followed up the same by stating the allegations against the idol as false.

However, further investigations revealed that the trainee, Han Seo-hee, might've been threatened by her CEO, Yang Hyun-suk, to change the statement in order to protect his artist. This eventually led to a legal investigation that started back in December 2022.

After several trials, the informant's statement was proven true, and YG Entertainment's CEO was sentenced to six months of imprisonment and one year of probation for his offenses against the Act on the Enhanced Punishment for Certain Crimes.

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YG Entertainment's Yang Hyun-suk sentenced to six months imprisonment and one year probation following allegations of him threatening B.I's drug usage informant

Back in August 2016, police arrested the former YG Entertainment trainee, Han Seo-hee, for her drug usage, and the investigation of the same showcased chat logs of the former YG member of iKON purchasing drugs from the trainee.

While the trainee, too, admitted that the idol purchased 10 doses of LSD from her, a week later she took back her statement, saying that he only placed the order but never went ahead with the purchase.

When YG Entertainment was contacted regarding the same in 2019, they denied all allegations about B.I's drug usage.

However, B.I released a statement announcing his departure from the group and the agency while also hinting at his possible use of drugs as he apologized for his inappropriate behavior. The day after that, on June 12, 2019, Yang Hyun-suk was accused of threatening the informant, Han Seo-hee, and forcing her to change her statement regarding B.I.

KBS's report revealed that the trainee was called to Yang Hyun-suk's office and was threatened with ruining her career if she didn't change her statement.

Following further investigations, in November 2019, the police revealed that they found evidence of Yang Hyun-suk threatening the informant, Han Seo-hee, to take back her statement given to the ACRC (Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission).

In June 2020, Han Seo-hee was called to the Seoul Central District Attorney’s Office for a proper investigation of the threatening allegations, and a year later, Yang Hyun-suk was revealed to carry charges of trying to cover up his artist's drug usage and threatening the informant with retaliation. The trial for the same began in December of 2021.

After being indicted for violating the Act on Aggravated Punishment for Specific Crimes, the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 6-3 held an appeal on November 8. The trial concluded after declaring the CEO a sentence of six months of imprisonment along with one year of probation after he was found guilty of the charges.