Actor Yoo Ah In’s Appeal Plea Gets Berated For “Using All The Wrong Excuses” 

Will actor Yoo Ah In‘s appeal for a shorter sentence be heard? The court has not decided, but the internet has—and things are not looking too good for the troubled actor.

On November 19, 2024 (KST), actor Yoo Ah In appeared in court for the second trial of his appeals case on the charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act. In September, Yoo was sentenced to 12 months in prison and was detained during the first trial. He has since been appealing the decision, citing the “unfairness of the sentence” as one of the main reasons.

Yoo Ah In Sentenced To One Year In Prison During First Trial

Yoo’s legal representatives stated in the appeal plea that the actor “neglected to take care of himself” while “bringing happiness to the public” and then mentioned the recent passing of the actor’s father as sufficient consequence for his actions.

Yoo Ah In, in his efforts to bring happiness to the public, neglected to take good care of himself, leading to a severe impact on his career as an actor. He will now have to live with the harsh backlash from the public. The consequences he faces for his wrong choices, made deep in his depression, are far greater than those that non-celebrities would endure. We ask for the court’s understanding.

Please consider the fact that Yoo Ah In must also live with the guilt that his father’s illness worsened amid the news of his wrongdoings, which soon led to the passing of his father. There can be no greater punishment than this.

— Yoo Ah In’s Defense

The defense also requested that the court consider Yoo Ah In’s previous charitable contributions, such as donating his earnings to vulnerable groups, as part of his positive influence.

That said, the details of Yoo Ah In’s second trial have left Korean netizens in shock. Hundreds of comments berated the actor for “dragging his late father” into it and “using all the wrong excuses” to get out of his sentence.

• “Did he bring his late father into this, for real?”
• “Shouldn’t have done the drugs, then.”
• “He broke his father’s heart the minute he put his hands on drugs. No?”
• “Losing a parent doesn’t excuse a crime. What is he talking about?”
• “Using all the wrong excuses…”
• “I find it so baffling that he would go as far to use his own late father as an excuse in a plea for a shorter sentence. I’m ashamed that I ever thought he was a good person.”
• “I can’t believe he’s using his late father as an excuse… What a disgraceful thing to do to the deceased.”
• “He should have made better choices.”
• “I don’t know what his father’s passing has to do with the sentence at all.”

• “Using his late father as an excuse after committing a crime…”
• “He’s the one who broke his father’s heart.”
• “What is he talking about? He committed a crime. How dare he sell his deceased father like this?”
• “A sense of guilt isn’t punishment. He needs a proper sentence.”
• “Sigh.”
• “Using the death of his father as an excuse…?”
• “Wow, unbelievable.”
• “He needs a longer sentence for dishonoring his own father like this.”

Yoo Ah In fell from grace when he was charged in October 2023 for habitual use of medical propofol in 181 instances between September 2020 and March 2022 at hospitals in the Seoul area. Ever since the revelation of his severe addiction to medicinal narcotics, the public has remained critical—to the point that even his prison diet triggered unexpected outrage.

Read more about it below.

Food Given To Arrested Celebrities In Korean Prisons Triggers Public Outrage