Former iKON member B.I receives four years probation over drug scandal

"I will try to become a person who can be forgiven by people whom I have hurt”

Ex-iKON member B.I has been sentenced to four years of probation for his alleged purchase of marijuana and LSD in 2016.

On September 10, B.I – real name Kim Han-bin — attended the sentencing hearing for his drug abuse case. According to Yonhap News Agency, the Seoul Central District court sentenced the K-pop idol to a four-year probation, with a three-year jail term should be violate the probation.

In addition, the 25-year-old has also been ordered to complete 80 hours of community service and 40 hours of drug treatment sessions. The singer will also have to pay ₩1.5million (about £920).

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“He committed the crimes not just out of curiosity,” said the court. “A celebrity’s drug-related offences have a huge impact on society by making people, especially young people, less alert to the dangers of illegal drug use.”

However, the court also noted that the singer had shown remorse, and that his family have offered their support to Kim. “I will try to become a person who can be forgiven by people whom I have hurt,” Kim said during the trial.

Last month, prosecutors had originally requested the Seoul Central District Court sentence the 25-year-old to three years of jail, alongside a payment of ₩1.5million (Roughly £9300) in restitution.

The singer had departed from iKON in 2019 after the drug allegations against him surfaced. The case had also led to the resignation of former YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk, who was indicted earlier this year for allegedly attempting to cover up Kim’s drug scandal.

According to a report by Yonhap News Agency, he was indicted by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on charges of purportedly having threatened an informant who had testified about B.I’s suspected drug purchase to the police in August 2016.

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