a police investigation against a K-pop figure, G-Dragon, for drug use

K-pop rapper and star of South Korea’s BigBang group G-Dragon, real name Kwon Ji-yong, is the latest in a long line of entertainment figures to be the subject of investigations for drug use, in a country which has tightened its legislation on the consumption and trafficking of illicit substances. Incheon district police reported “opened an investigation” against G-Dragon, without further details. The rapper, influencer in the musical and clothing fields, was questioned for cannabis use in 2011 before being released without charge.

Sale of cannabis punishable by life imprisonment

President Yoon Suk Yeol this year called for tougher measures to stamp out drug trafficking, in a country where the sale of cannabis is punishable by life imprisonment. South Korean law is also very strict when it comes to drug use, even against users returning to South Korea with cannabis legally acquired abroad.

Smoking synthetic cannabis, one of the most heavily regulated psychoactive substances in South Korea, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a fine of 100 million won. ($75,332).

Korean stars targeted

Less than a week ago Lee Sun-kyun, one of the main actors of the award-winning film Parasite was accused of using cannabis and other psychotropic drugs. In early October, another famous comedian in South Korea, Yoo Ah-in, was charged with drug use. Prison sentences have also been handed down against members of the group BigBang, one of the most successful with at least 140 million records sold worldwide since its beginnings in 2006.

TOP, a rapper in the group, who revealed in May that he had left it, was given a suspended prison sentence in 2017 for cannabis use. For another reason, Seungri, another singer in the group, retired from show business in 2019, before being sentenced to 18 months in prison for having offered women to potential investors for sexual relations.