“I’m sorry to anyone who was harmed” Yoo Ah-in hesitates to answer additional questions

Actor Yoo Ah-in (37, real name Eom Hong-sik), who was indicted without detention on charges of habitual drug use, appeared in court.

Yoo Ah-in appeared at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul around 10 am on the 12th and bowed his head in front of reporters and apologized. On this day, Yoo Ah-in, wearing an all-black long coat and with his hair grown, said, "I am sorry for causing concern to many people," and added, "I will faithfully participate in the remaining trial process and explain my case."

He then said, "Once again, I would like to express my sincere apologies to those who were disappointed and suffered a lot of damage because of me," and headed to the court. When asked about the postponement of the trial date, Yoo Ah-in hesitated and stuttered before answering, "I think there was a situation related to the lawyer." He entered the court without answering questions such as ‘Do you admit to habitual drug use on 181 occasions?’ and ‘Is it true that you recommended marijuana to your companions?’

Criminal Agreement Division 25-1 of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judges Park Jeong-gil, Park Jeong-je, and Ji Gwi-yeon) held the first trial on the 12th at 10 am for Mr. Choi (32), including Yoo Ah-in, who was indicted on charges of violation of the Narcotics Control Act (hypocampus), etc. Open .

As this is the first trial, the court on this day is expected to confirm the facts of the indictment with defendant Yoo Ah-in and his defense team and confirm whether to admit the evidence presented by the prosecution, and reach an agreement between both sides on which witnesses to select and summon in future trials.

Previously, on October 19, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Violent Crime Investigation Department (Chief Prosecutor Kim Yeon-sil) indicted Yoo Ah-in without detention on a total of eight charges, including habitual propofol use, buying illegal prescriptions for sleeping pills in other people's names, smoking marijuana, instigation, and instigation of destruction of evidence. Yoo Ah-in is accused of using more than seven types of drugs (violation of the Narcotic Drugs Control Act, etc.), including propofol, marijuana, ketamine, cocaine, zolpidem, midazolam, and alprazolam.

The main issues in Yoo Ah-in's trial are expected to be the number of drugs administered, the habitual and intentional use of drugs, and whether or not he taught his acquaintances to smoke marijuana.

In addition, what kind of attitude Yoo Ah-in approaches the trial is also important. If you continue to deny the charges or show no remorse even though there are valid circumstances or evidence, it will be detrimental to the court. It is understood that Yoo Ah-in and his defense team's strategy will also be very important. This also served as the background for Yoo Ah-in's appointment of an additional lawyer, former chief judge of the High Court and head of the drug department at the Prosecutor's Office. Yoo Ah-in submitted an application to change the trial date through Haekwang Law Firm on the 10th of last month, and the court accepted it, giving him about a month to go.

Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr