Actor Yoo Ah In has pleaded for leniency while mentioning the passing of his father, citing lifelong guilt over the incident.
On the morning of November 19, the Seoul High Court held the second appellate hearing of Yoo Ah In and his acquaintance, Mr. Choi, who are facing charges related to drug law violations.
Yoo Ah In was sentenced to one year in prison in the first trial and was taken into custody. His legal team filed an appeal, arguing that there were factual inaccuracies and unfair sentencing.
Yoo Ah In’s lawyer stated, “Yoo Ah In gave much joy to the public, but he failed to take care of himself in the process, which severely impacted his career as an actor. He will live the rest of his life bearing the harsh judgment of the public.”
The lawyer continued, “The consequences of his poor choices, made alongside depression, are far more severe than what an ordinary person would face. We ask that you consider this.”
During the hearing, Yoo Ah In also spoke about the loss of his father, who passed away on August 7. He expressed that he would live with the guilt of having contributed to his father's deteriorating health, saying, "I will live with the guilt that my actions made my father's condition worse, and he passed away because of that. There is no greater punishment than this."
Yoo Ah In also requested that his past contributions, such as his donations to underprivileged groups, be taken into account, emphasizing his positive influence in society.
In the first appeal, Yoo Ah In largely acknowledged his drug use but claimed there was a misunderstanding regarding the issue of proxy prescriptions.
His legal team also argued that before the investigation began, Yoo Ah In had been seeking treatment for sleep disorders in a healthy way and had been making significant progress in overcoming his addiction to sleep anesthetics.
Yoo Ah In has been charged with regularly using medical propofol over 181 occasions from September 2020 to March 2022 at various hospitals in Seoul.
He is also accused of illegally obtaining 1,100 doses of two types of sleeping pills using someone else’s name between May 2021 and August 2022. Additionally, he faces charges for smoking marijuana three times with others in the U.S. in January 2023 and teaching others how to do so.
In the first trial, the court found Yoo Ah In guilty of habitual marijuana use, frequent illegal drug use, and purchasing drugs under someone else’s name.
He was sentenced to one year in prison, a fine of 2 million KRW, 80 hours of drug rehabilitation, and a restitution fee of approximately 1.54 million KRW. However, he was acquitted of the charge of tampering with evidence due to insufficient evidence.
Source: [1]
