Yoo Ah-in hit with a bundle of cash to “use in prison” after avoiding arrest a second time

Actor Yoo Ah-in (real name Uhm Hong-sick / Eom Hong-sik), suspected of regularly using drugs, answers questions from the press as he enters the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul for a warrant review on the morning of September 21. Yonhap News

The actor, Yoo Ah-in (real name Uhm Hong-sick / Eom Hong-sik) suspected of regularly using drugs, avoided being arrested a second time on September 21.

Judge Yun Jae-nam in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court dismissed Yoo’s arrest warrant after questioning the suspects, Yoo and his acquaintances Choi and Bak, prior to arrest (warrant review) on Thursday. The three men are suspected of violating the Narcotics Control Act and of trying to destroy evidence and helping a criminal flee from the law.

Judge Yun dismissed the prosecutor’s request for Yoo’s arrest warrant and said, “The suspect admitted most of his crimes, to using propofol and illegally purchasing sleeping pills, as well as his own use of marijuana. And a considerable amount of related evidence has been secured.” He further explained, “Given that the suspect has no history of similar crimes and that he has a steady place of residence, there is a lack of necessity to arrest the suspect at this stage.”

The judge continued and said, “As for instigating another person to trade and smoke marijuana, circumstances do suggest that he recommended Gim to smoke marijuana, but there is room for debate on whether it can be seen as an act of ‘instigation.’” Judge Yun added, “As for prompting another person to destroy evidence, the suspect admitted that he told Bak to delete his cell phone, but there is room for debate on whether this could be recognized as instigating the destruction of evidence.”

Before his second warrant review Thursday, Yoo said to the press, “Once again, I apologize for the great concern I have continued to cause.” He then said, “I will faithfully answer questions and honestly answer everything I can in court today,” and headed to the courtroom. On his way out after the review, when asked if he admitted the charges of assisting a criminal flee from the law and instigating the destruction of evidence, he simply answered, “No,” and got in the prisoner transport vehicle. In the process, a man threw a bundle of cash at the actor telling him to use it in prison.

Yoo is suspected of regularly buying and using medical drugs such as propofol, valued at nearly 500 million won, over two-hundred occasions, disguised as IV sedation for aesthetic treatments in hospitals in Seoul since 2020. He is also charged with illegally receiving dozens of prescriptions for over a thousand sleeping pills under another person’s name for his own use and smoking marijuana in the U.S. along with four people including Choi in January.

The violent crime investigation division (head prosecutor, Shin Jun-ho) at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office requested a second arrest warrant for Yoo on September 18 after further investigating Yoo’s case, which they received in June. Prosecutors first sought an arrest warrant for Yoo and Choi following a request from the police in May, but the court denied the warrant.