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T.O.P stripped of police post after drug conviction
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South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter and actor T.O.P. poses on the red carpet during the 2015 amfAR Hong Kong gala at Shaw Studios in Hong Kong on March 14, 2015. (AFP/Anthony Wallace)
P
olice on Monday ruled T.O.P of Big Bang inadequate to serve as a conscripted policeman, after he received a suspended prison term for smoking marijuana.
The review committee on reenlistment of the convicted at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency reached the decision not to allow the 29-year-old rapper to continue his police duties, which he had been serving as an alternative to mandatory military service.
Korean law stipulates that all able-bodied men are to serve in the military for 21 to 24 months, depending on their branch or service. The government recently announced plans to shorten the minimum service period to 18 months.
Read also: Big Bang’s T.O.P pleads guilty to pot charges
The Big Bang member, whose real name is Choi Seun-hyun, was found guilty of smoking marijuana four times last year. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years.
Upon his indictment, he was removed from his current post in accordance to regulations and was subjected to a disciplinary review after the July 20 sentence.
Police are to request the military to reassign Choi to another post. If the military approves, he will finish his service as either a noncombat public service worker or as part of the full-time reserve force.
Choi began his service at Gangnam Police Station in Seoul in February.
This article appeared on The Korea Herald newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
