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| K-pop singer B.I. walks out from the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency in Suwon, Tuesday, after police questioned him for 14 hours over his allegation of drug abuse. / Yonhap |
By Kim Jae-heun
B.I., a former member of K-pop band iKON from YG Entertainment, admitted to purchasing and smoking marijuana.
The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency summoned B.I., whose real name is Kim Han-bin, Tuesday, to question him over whether he had asked his friend to procure the drug for him in 2016 and if he had used it.
The investigation started at 9 a.m. and continued for 14 hours. Kim was called upon as a witness initially but later police named him as a suspect after he admitted to some of the alleged crimes, and booked him for violating the Narcotic Control Act.
Before he got in a van to return home, Kim told reporters, "I'm sorry for causing problems."
Police will soon transfer his case to the prosecution for indictment.
The questioning came about three months after the allegations first emerged following a media report.
Kim's friend, who had been caught using marijuana in August 2016, claimed at the time she submitted to police Kim's KakaoTalk message asking her to buy him some marijuana.
But in an interrogation later that month, she changed her testimony and claimed Kim asked for marijuana but she did not give it to him.
However, she claimed recently she changed her testimony after former YG head Yang Hyun-suk threatened her and forced her to change her story.
Following this, the police will call in Yang as well soon to question him over the suspicion. If Yang's threat is proven true, he can be charged with making threats and obstruction of justice.
