Prosecution Indicts Yoo Ah-in Without Detention on Charges of 181 Counts of Propofol and Other Drug Administration (Comprehensive)

Actor Yoo Ah-in (37, real name Eom Hong-sik), who is accused of habitual drug use, has been indicted.

The Violent Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Yeon-sil) indicted Yoo on the 19th without detention on charges including violation of the Narcotics Control Act (psychotropic substances), marijuana smoking and instigation, evidence tampering instigation, violation of the Medical Service Act, and fraud.

Actor Yoo Ah-in, who is accused of habitual drug use, is attending a pre-trial detention hearing held on the 21st of last month at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

According to the prosecution, Yoo is accused of habitually using medical propofol and other drugs 181 times under the pretext of sedation for cosmetic procedures at hospitals around Seoul from September 2020 to March 2022. It was confirmed that Yoo used a total of four types of medical narcotics: propofol, midazolam, ketamine, and remimazolam. He is also accused of illegally obtaining and purchasing over 1,100 tablets of two types of sleeping pills under other people's names 44 times from May 2021 to August 2022. In January, he was also charged with smoking marijuana in the United States with four accomplices, including his acquaintance Choi (32), and instructing others to smoke it.

The prosecution also indicted Choi on charges of marijuana smoking, retaliatory threats under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, and aiding a criminal. It was investigated that Choi tried to hide the crimes committed with Yoo by helping accomplice YouTuber Yang to flee overseas and coerced and threatened other accomplices to retract their statements.

Yoo avoided detention twice during police and prosecution investigations. The arrest warrant requested by the police in May was dismissed by the court due to no risk of evidence tampering or flight. After receiving the case from the police without detention on June 9, the prosecution conducted supplementary investigations including a search of Yoo's residence, added charges such as instructing an acquaintance to tamper with evidence and forcing marijuana smoking on his group in the United States, and re-requested an arrest warrant on the 18th of last month.

However, the court dismissed the warrant, stating that a significant amount of related evidence had been secured and some charges were disputable.