Namyang Dairy Heiress Hwang Hana Indicted and Detained on Drug Charges

Investigation by Prosecutors After Detention at Seoul Detention Center
Accused of Injecting Methamphetamine with Acquaintances in 2023

Hwang Hana (37), the granddaughter of the founder of Namyang Dairy Products who was arrested on drug charges, has been handed over to the prosecution.

According to Yonhap News Agency on January 2, the Gwacheon Police Station in Gyeonggi Province transferred Hwang to the Anyang Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act. That afternoon, Hwang left the detention center at Anyang Dongan Police Station and boarded a transport vehicle heading to the prosecutor's office. She is expected to be held at the Seoul Detention Center while undergoing further investigation by the prosecution.

Hwang Hana, the granddaughter of the founder of Namyang Dairy Products, who fled abroad while under investigation for drug charges and was arrested, is attending a pretrial detention hearing at the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Court in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province on the 26th of last month. Joint coverage, Yonhap News Agency

Hwang is accused of injecting methamphetamine with two acquaintances in Gangnam, Seoul, in July 2023. While under police investigation for these charges, she fled to Thailand in December of the same year. After her passport was invalidated, she reportedly illegally entered Cambodia and stayed there.

When Hwang's side recently expressed her intention to voluntarily appear before the police, officers traveled to Cambodia and arrested her on a Korean national airline at Phnom Penh International Airport on the 24th of last month. She was then detained following a pretrial detention hearing on the 26th. Hwang is said to be denying the charges. Some media outlets reported suspicions that Hwang was involved in drug trafficking or arranging prostitution during her time abroad, but police investigations have not confirmed any additional charges.

Hwang stated that she decided to return to Korea to take responsibility for a child she gave birth to while overseas. It was also reported that the child's father entered Korea with her on the same day. Seo Hyojin, the judge in charge of warrants at the Anyang Branch of Suwon District Court, issued an arrest warrant for Hwang on the 26th of last month, citing concerns about evidence destruction regarding her alleged violation of the Narcotics Control Act.

Meanwhile, Hwang is also known as the former fianc?e of Park Yuchun, a singer and actor who was a member of TVXQ. In 2019, she was sentenced to one year in prison with two years of probation for habitual methamphetamine use with an acquaintance from May to September 2015. The following year, she was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison for drug use during her probation period. This latest arrest marks her third incarceration in four years.