K-drama star Yoo Ah-in’s drug use probe leaves South Korean film industry in panic
- The actor, who has been slapped with an overseas travel ban, is under investigation by police for alleged illegal use of a sleep-inducing drug
- A slew of big-ticket films starring Yoo were set to be released in the first half of the year, but now it remains to be seen whether this will be possible
South Korean police are looking into actor Yoo Ah-in’s alleged illegal use of an anaesthetic drug, and all eyes within the film industry are now fixed on the findings of the investigation, as Yoo was set to appear in numerous films and series this year including Netflix’s The Match.
The 36-year-old is suspected of having used Propofol, a sleep-inducing drug, for non-medical purposes habitually. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety requested a police investigation, as his prescription purchases were “too frequent.”
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency questioned the actor on February 6 and sent some of his hair samples to the National Forensic Service for drug testing and imposed an overseas travel ban on him.
Hours after a local broadcaster reported the investigation on Wednesday evening, Yoo’s management company, United Arts Agency, released an official statement confirming the situation.
“Yoo has been faithfully cooperating with the investigation and will explain in detail about the problematic issues,” it added.
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The acting industry is in a panic over the news about the prolific actor. Netflix’s The Match, a film about Go players starring Yoo and actor Lee Byung-hun, was expected to be released in the first half of this year, but now it remains to be seen whether this will be possible.
Yoo’s other films Hi.5 and Goodbye Earth were also set to come out in a few months, but the production teams are currently waiting for the investigation’s outcomes.
In the case of the second season of Netflix’s dystopian mystery horror series Hellbound, the filming was initially planned to begin in June. Thanks to the success of its first season – which reigned atop Netflix’s weekly chart in 2021 – expectations for its second season were high but things now remain uncertain.
Yoo debuted with the coming-of-age drama, Sharp in 2004 and has been featured in a number of hit films and dramas including Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010) and #Alive (2020).
