The K-Pop world was in a whirlwind after B.I, real name, Kim Han Bin, announced his departure from iKON. The idol admitted to once having intentions to buy drugs from someone referred to as “A” in a series of text messages, but ultimately didn’t follow through with it. Shortly after announcing his departure, YG Entertainment terminated his contract with the company, angering a lot of fans.
Dispatch Exposes iKON’s B.I Allegedly Soliciting and Using Drugs
Many netizens were curious about “A”s identity as there were varying reports identifying “A” as both male and female. According to MBC News, the person referred to as “A” in the text messages between B.I is said to be Big Bang’s, T.O.P’s ex-girlfriend and former YG trainee, Han Seo Hee. She is the same person in the marijuana scandal with T.O.P back in 2017. When a reporter asked her if it was YG who hired a lawyer for her and whether it was Yang Hyun Suk who instructed her to change her confession, Han Seo Hee responded, “It’s the same as what you said.” This is believed to be the reason for Han Seo Hee recanting her original statements about providing drugs to B.I.
According to KBS, Han Seo Hee’s public defense lawyer claims Yang Hyun Suk once threatened her saying “It’s very easy to make you suffer damages.” He also allegedly once said: “Even if our artists immediately take drug tests, you wouldn’t find anything. We do regular drug testing and if anyone fails the test, they are sent to Japan to detoxify. There is no way to detect the composition of drugs in the system.” The public defense lawyer also claims B.I and Han Seo Hee smoked marijuana together around April 2016. When B.I requested to buy LSD, Han Seo Hee went to iKON’s dorm to deliver the drugs. It’s said B.I withdrew money from a nearby ATM to give her the money. It’s reported the authorities are considering investigating B.I based on these claims.
Yesterday, the hashtag “#HANBINSTAYWITHUS was trending on Twitter with over 170,000 tweets at one point. Korean netizens were also petitioning to block all YG artists from promoting due to the scandal. YG artist, Lee Hi, who was set to make her comeback after a 3 year hiatus, is said to be the first artist impacted as B.I is featured on her promotional song, “No One.”
