Actor Yoo Ah-in attends his sentencing hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, Sept. 3, 2024. Korea Times photo by Hong In-ki

Actor Yoo Ah-in, who was sentenced to one year in prison and detained in court five months ago on charges of habitual drug use, was released on Tuesday after receiving a suspended sentence from an appellate court.

The 39-year-old actor, whose legal name is Uhm Hong-sik, was indicted for illegally using propofol, a medical anesthetic, under the pretext of cosmetic procedures on 181 occasions between 2020 and 2022. He was also accused of abusing three other medical anesthetic drugs, including midazolam and ketamine.

In September last year, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced him to imprisonment of one year, a fine of 2 million won ($1,400) and a forfeit of 1.5 million won and ordered his immediate detention.

In an appellate trial, however, the Seoul High Court handed out a one-year prison term, suspended for two years, and a fine of 2 million won to the actor, saying the district court's sentence was deemed heavy and unfair in consideration of the motive and other circumstances for his offenses. (Yonhap)