HOOK Entertainment CEO Is Hit With New Allegations That She Violated Several Drug Laws
HOOK Entertainment CEO is alleged to have violated Korea’s drug laws.
Amid facing allegations of stealing money generated by Lee Seung Gi‘s music career and an active audit by Korea’s tax agency, HOOK Entertainment’s embattled CEO, Kwon Jin Young, is now facing fresh new allegations that she violated Korea’s drug laws.
According to an SBS report, Kwon Jin Young had made an employee of the agency purchase and pick up her medicine for the past two years. The SBS report cites HOOK Entertainment’s own internal documents that state from 2020 to 2022, the CEO had an employee purchase her medicine over 30 times.
- CEO: “My medicine ran out.”
- Employee: “I have an appointment at the hospital tomorrow.”
- CEO: “Hey…”
- Employee: “Yes?”
- CEO: “Bring me one box of Cass Light (Beer) and 10 bottles of Jinro (alcohol).”
- Employee: “The hospital said unless it is a phone check-up, they do not send prescriptions to the pharmacy. I will leave now with Manager A since there will be traffic in the afternoon.”
- Employee: “I spent ₩13,200 KRW (about $10.00 USD) on the medicine.”
In Korea, it is against the law to purchase or pick up medicine for another person. It is also against the law for doctors to prescribe drugs for someone who isn’t present unless the person is medically unconscious or incapacitated.
The law, however, was amended in 2020 to allow patients’ guardians to pick up the prescriptions for patients due to COVID-19.
According to the SBS report, Kwon Jin Young abused the COVID-19 provisions by listing her employees as treatment guardians. The report goes on to allege that the CEO had picked up drugs that are categorized as psychoactive drugs. Psychoactive drugs refer to drugs that change functions of the nervous system and result in changed perception, mood, or behavior.
This is not all. A source close to the CEO told SBS that she would also illegally receive sleeping drugs that are categorized as Psychotropic Drugs through a third party. The report also cites a previous Dispatch article that alleged that from 2020, CEO Kwon Jin Young had spent ₩42.0 million KRW (about $31,900 USD) on hospital bills. This is an exorbitant amount considering Korea provides its citizens with universal healthcare and that the country’s insurance policy covers most prescription drugs.
A lawyer in the article stated that if the CEO was found to have abused the law surrounding proxy prescriptions, she might be punished. Also, the lawyer stated that the doctors and pharmacists involved might also be punished by law.
CEO Kwon Jin Young’s legal representative has denied all wrong-doings and stated that Kwon Jin Young had never received drugs from a third party.
Netizens criticized the CEO and reacted in amazement at the number of allegations that are surrounding her.
- “How is it that the more you look into her crimes, the more you find?”
- “This is scary.”
- “Psychoactive drugs?”
- “Woah.”
- “I bet she’s regretting not letting Lee Seung Gi go when he asked her to.”
- “She’s crossing all the lines.”
- “Wow, this is crazy.”
Stay tuned for updates.
