Yang Hyun Suk, the executive producer of YG Entertainment who was accused of conciliating and threatening the informant in a drug case, has received a final sentence of probation.
On the morning of July 18, the Supreme Court’s First Division upheld the original verdict, confirming a sentence of six months in prison suspended for one year for Yang Hyun Suk, who was indicted on charges of violating the Act on Aggravated Punishment for Specific Crimes (threatening).
Following the court’s ruling, YG Entertainment released the following official statement from Yang Hyun Suk:
Although I am disappointed by the Supreme Court’s ruling, I humbly accept the decision.
While I was acquitted of the initial charge of “retaliatory threats” in both the first and second trials, the prosecution changed the indictment during the second trial to the unfamiliar charge of “coercion of an interview.” As a result, after a long legal battle lasting five years and eight months, I have now received the Supreme Court’s final verdict.
From now on, I will devote myself to my duties with even greater caution and a stronger sense of responsibility.
Thank you.
Previously in August 2016, Yang Hyun Suk was brought to trial on charges of attempting to persuade and threaten Han Seo Hee, a former trainee who had been arrested by police on drug charges, in order to cover up the investigation after she testified about iKON member B.I allegedly purchasing drugs.
In the first trial held in December 2022, the court acquitted Yang Hyun Suk, citing the victim’s inconsistent statements and the lack of direct evidence to prove that Yang Hyun Suk threatened the victim.
During the second trial, the prosecution filed to amend the indictment to add the charge of “coercion of an interview” as an alternative criminal fact, and the court accepted this. The court, as in the first trial, found Yang Hyun Suk not guilty of retaliatory threats. However, regarding the newly added charge of coercion of an interview, the court found him guilty and, in November 2023, sentenced Yang Hyun Suk to six months in prison suspended for one year. Yang Hyun Suk appealed the second trial’s verdict, leading to a Supreme Court review and final decision to uphold the verdict.
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