The Prosecutor's Office may have more to explain on the drug investigation against YG Entertainment and former iKON leader B.I after a fresh report indicating inconsistencies in the prosecution's statement and the actions it took against the former YG artist and the whistleblower "A."
According to a KBS report, the Prosecutor's Office was believed to be investigating YG Entertainment at the time the case involving B.I and "A" surfaced. It was reported that in 2016, "A" was arrested along with seven others for drug charges, but the case of "A" was processed separately from the others, reported Soompi.
The report indicated that while the arrest was made at the same time, the case of "A" was forwarded to the prosecutor's office in August while the rest was not forwarded until October. According to police, prosecutors requested that "A's" case be forwarded to them in advance since they claimed they were already investigating YG Entertainment. It was earlier reported that "A" was a YG trainee.
The prosecutors also claimed that the questioning for "A" did not yield any substantial findings because she kept crying. At around this time, the investigation for YG was also reported to be coming to a close. Prosecutors claimed that when they tried to summon "A" for questioning again, they were informed that she has already fled the country.
A separate report from Yonhap News said that a source from the prosecution confirmed that the investigation being undertaken against YG Entertainment at the time did not involve the name of B.I. However, since his name was indicated in the investigative report, it was believed by the prosecution that the police were carrying out their investigation against the rapper.
In an earlier statement, the Prosecutors' Office reiterated that there was not enough evidence to press charges against former iKON leader B.I, whose real name was Kim Hanbin because he was not specifically mentioned in the statement of "A." They also claimed inconclusive statements from the witness because she kept crying during the interview, All Kpop reported.
It can be recalled that the entire issue stemmed from a Dispatch expose revealing a Kakao Talk conversation involving B.I and a certain "A," wherein the former iKON leader was inquiring on how to acquire marijuana and LSD. It was later revealed that this conversation was already submitted to the police in 2016, but the prosecution did not press charges against the former YG artist.
Authorities came under fire for not acting on the issue, but a lawyer claimed that it would be hard to press charges against the rapper without solid proof of drug use or distribution.
