Court Rules Yang Hyun Suk Not Guilty At First Trial For Threatening Informant In Drug Case

Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Court Rules Yang Hyun Suk Not Guilty At First Trial For Threatening Informant In Drug Case.

On the morning of December 22, the first trial was held for Yang Hyun Suk who was indicted on charges of violating the Act on Aggravated Punishment for Specific Crimes (threatening). The court acquitted Yang Hyun Suk, citing the victim’s inconsistent statements and the lack of direct evidence to prove that Yang Hyun Suk threatened the victim.

Yang Hyun Suk was accused of conciliating and threatening the informant who reported B.I’s drug charges to the police while being investigated by the police in 2016 for smoking marijuana with BIGBANG’s T.O.P.

The court cited, “It seems that Yang Hyun Suk tried to persuade and pressure the victim to reverse her statement, which is worthy of criticism.” Yet, they cited that the victim had reversed her statement several times, and it was believed that she acted in anticipation of compensation such as money which lead to lack of credibility in her words.

According to the court, “Intimidation means threatening to harm and preventing decision-making by arousing fear. If you acted in response to someone else’s request while expecting some kind of compensation from them, it cannot be regarded as a restriction on decision-making. The victim, although she said that she was scared, contacted [Yang Hyun Suk] in a friendly way and voluntarily informed him of the situation as she reversed her statements, and she repeatedly smoked marijuana with a member of BIGBANG. It is difficult to understand why she continued providing drugs to the YG group member. [Thus,] it is difficult to conclude that she felt fear to the extent that her freedom to make decisions was violated.”

Previously in 2020, Yang Hyun Suk was accused of threatening a female informant ‘A’ in order to cover up former iKON member B.I’s illegal drug use case from 2016. According to ‘A’, Yang Hyun Suk ordered her to take back her statements to police about B.I’s involvement in any drug dealings, and thus the former iKON member avoided investigation at the time.

However, the issue was soon brought into light again in 2020, and B.I underwent a formal investigation for the purchase and use of drugs like LSD and marijuana. In September of 2021, the court ruled that B.I was guilty of possessing and using the drugs, and he was sentenced to a probationary period of 4 years.

Meanwhile, around the same time, Yang Hyun Suk was investigated and forward to prosecution for charges of threatening. Last month, during a court hearing for the case, prosecution claimed, “[Yang Hyun Suk] clearly had ill-intentions to threaten the informant ‘A’, based on his comment, ‘It would be so easy for me to kill someone like you’,” and demanded 3-years in prison for the former YG Entertainment producer.

However, on December 22 the Seoul Central District Court ultimately ruled that Yang Hyun Suk was “not guilty” of threatening informant ‘A’. Regarding the decision, the court stated, “In order to rule the defendant guilty of threatening and retaliation, the informant’s decision to recall their earlier comments must have been out of fear, with their individual freedom of speech significantly suppressed. However, the exchanges between [Yang] and the informant do not adequately indicate that the informant was under severe pressure.”