K-pop singer-turned-actor Park Yu-chun held a press conference Wednesday and denied rumors that he had supplied drugs to ex-fiancee Hwang Ha-na, who is under investigation for alleged drug use.
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Park Yu-chun (Yonhap) |
“I never used drugs,” Park said.
“When I saw the report that Hwang Ha-na said a celebrity had offered her drugs, I was so scared that the person could be mistaken for me. I was terrified by the thought that I could be labeled a drug user even though I never did drugs.”
The 32-year-old said he and his ex-fiancee suffered from depression.
“I suffered from threats from Hwang Ha-na after we broke up, but I was sorry for her and had a sense of responsibility as she was with me in 2017, the toughest period of my life. She abruptly contacted me and came to my house to complain, but I tried to comfort her and apologized to her. It was very painful, and I slept after taking prescribed sleeping pills.”
Park said he thought about breaking up with Hwang early last year. The two were engaged to be married in 2017, but broke up in May 2018.
“I knew that Hwang Ha-na had been taken sleeping pills too, but that had nothing to do with me. She never told me that she had a criminal record for drugs or said anything about illegal substances. She just told me her depression symptoms had worsened after we broke up and she had hard feelings toward me.”
Park flatly denied having anything to do with drugs.
“I’ve been working hard, enduring hardships and pushing myself every day to rebuild my acting career. It’s unthinkable that I would have used drugs or even thought about using them, since that would have made all my efforts go to waste.”
Park also said he would cooperate with a police investigation.
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Park Yu-chun (Yonhap) |
Hwang, a 31-year-old granddaughter of the late founder of Namyang Dairy Products Co., Hong Du-yeong, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of violating the Narcotics Control Act.
Hwang is suspected of using meth in May and June 2015 and again in September 2015, as well as using two other illegal substances in April 2018. The police have been investigating her since they received a tip in October 2018.
During a police interrogation, Hwang reportedly said she had first tried meth in 2015 and then stopped using it for a while, but started again after a celebrity offered her the drug in 2018.
When her disclosure was reported in the local media, fingers pointed toward Park, who had been in a romantic relationship with Hwang.
Hwang was also booked by the Jongno Police in 2015 on charges of using meth and supplying it to an acquaintance surnamed Cho.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is currently investigating to determine why she was not indicted in 2015.
By Park Ju-young (
jupark@heraldcorp.com)
