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B.I quits iKON over attempted drug purchase
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B.I quits iKON over attempted drug purchase (Instagram/File/shxxbi131)
J
ust hours after a report alleging iKON’s B.I had tried to buy hallucinogenic drug LSD in the past, the singer announced he will leave the band that he debuted with in 2015.
The singer took to Instagram to issue the shocking announcement Wednesday afternoon, saying he is “extremely embarrassed and sorry,” though he denied taking drugs.
“I’m deeply sorry for causing a controversy over my inappropriate behavior,” he said.
“It’s true that I had interest in something to rely on which I shouldn’t have at one point when I was having a hard time. But I was too scared and worried to follow through,” the singer said.
The announcement comes on the heels of an exclusive report by local media outlet Dispatch, which accuses the singer of trying to buy LSD in 2016 through a messaging app.
Screenshots of a KakaoTalk conversation obtained by the media outlet show what seems to be an exchange between the singer and a convicted drug offender who remains anonymous, during which a person identified as B.I asks questions about the price and strength of the psychedelic drug and says he wants to use it to become a “genius.”
In one message, the singer appears to ask, “Should I get three? I can’t splash out, though. Can you get a discount?”
When the drug offender warns that one drug can lead to another and says B.I could end up using cocaine eventually, the singer appears to shrug off the warning, but says he wants to use drugs to “become a genius.”
The other person also tells B.I not to talk about drugs with others, to which the singer responds that he’s only asking the dealer questions because they had done drugs together.
If the allegations are proven, they could have serious consequences for B.I, as drug offenses in South Korea can carry sentences of between six months and four years in prison.
The accusation comes nearly three years after the anonymous offender in question was arrested for violating the drug law on charges for which he was later convicted, Dispatch reported. Under police questioning, the anonymous offender admitted to delivering acid blotter papers to the singer’s residence, Dispatch said, citing the Yongin Dongbu Police Station. A popular way of taking LSD is to put the drug on a small piece of paper and put the paper on one’s tongue.
Read also: ‘I will never repeat my mistake’ says Ju-ne of iKON
The media outlet also questioned the decision by police not to interview B.I despite the KakaoTalk messages implicating the singer in having used drugs before.
The anonymous drug offender refused to continue answering police questions after being contacted by YG Entertainment, which provided him with a lawyer, according to the report.
This is not the first time an YG artist has been implicated in the use of drugs. Rapper T.O.P was given a 10-month prison sentence in 2017, suspended for two years, for using marijuana on multiple occasions.
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
