K-Pop Star B.I Leaves iKON Following Illegal Drug Scandal
Celebrity

This arrives after he's accused of purchasing and using illegal drugs back in 2016 as one South Korean media outlet releases chat messages allegedly between the singer and a drug dealer.

AceShowbiz - K-Pop star B.I announced on Wednesday, June 12 that he would leave his group iKON after he was accused of purchasing and using illegal drugs back in 2016. South Korean media outlet Dispatch further reported that the iKON leader dodged police charges.

Through the singer's Kakao Talk messages from April of 2016 with female drug dealer A, it could be seen that the star was attempting to buy and using the illegal drug LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide). "I'm gonna do one drug for the rest of my life. Honestly I f***ing wanna do it everyday, but the stuff is hella expensive. So if you do L[SD], can you really see stuff? Like seeing things like they're graphics and hallucinations and stuff?" B.I, whose real name is Kim Hanbin, allegedly said in the chat messages according to translation.

Later in August 2016, A was arrested at a residence in Seoul for charges of illegal drug dealings. During the investigation, police obtained her cell phone and she admitted during her questioning that she delivered 10 pieces of LSD to B.I outside iKON's dorm. Additionally, Kim Hanbin was listed among the full list of buyers from another drug dealer C, who worked with A.

As to how B.I avoided police charges, Dispatch claimed that B.I's agency YG Entertainment hired a lawyer to represent A in her case in return of her taking back her previous statement regarding its artist. With that being said, police wrapped up their investigation into the case without B.I getting summoned for questioning.

Following the report, YG Entertainment released a statetement denying allegations leveled to B.I. An official of the entertainment agency told Dispatch, "YG strictly manages its artists for drug use. B.I has nothing to do with the alleged 2016 drug case. Every 2 months, YG purchases a drug diagnostic kit from the US and performs drug tests on all artists. All members of iKON including B.I submitted to the urine test ahead all of their activities. Not one member tested positive for drug use. [CEO] Yang Hyun Suk asked us to release this statement right away to set things straight."

However, the company later sang different tunes in its response to various other media outlets after Dispatch's piece became a hot issue online. "We will release a statement after checking the facts," said the agency.

B.I himself had just released a statement of his own. As if the drug scandal isn't enough, fans of the K-Pop star were shocked as he announced his departure from iKON. Breaking the news through an Instagram post, B.I wrote, "This is Kim Han Bin. First, I want to sincerely apologize for causing an issue of public criticism due to my extremely immoral actions. It's true that during a time when I was deeply struggling and miserable, I wanted to rely on something that I should never have shown interest in. However, even then, I was scared and terrified of it, and was unable to partake in it."

"Nonetheless, I feel so embarrassed and apologetic toward my fans and my group members, who were undoubtedly hurt by me and disappointed in me the most, due to my immoral speech and word choice. I humbly reflect on my mistakes and plan to leave the team," he went on adding. "Once again, I bow my head in apology to the fans and the members. I'm sorry."

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