K-pop singer’s house raided after tip-off from ex-fiancee

SEOUL: Gyeonggi police searched South Korean singer-actor Park Yoochun’s (pic) home and took hair samples in a drug probe that started when his ex-fiancee accused him of using illegal drugs.

The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency drug squad said 11 investigators raided Park’s residence in Hanam, Gyeonggi province, yesterday and confiscated his cellphone and car, a day before Park’s scheduled appearance for police questioning.

In spite of Park’s denials, the police found his former fiancee Hwang Ha-na’s testimony credible after obtaining surveillance camera footage from her former home in Gangnam taken earlier this year showing

Park on the premises.

During the investigation, Hwang testified that she and Park had used drugs together earlier this year at her home.

She also alleged that Park had injected her with methamphetamine while she was asleep.

Hwang, the granddaughter of the founder of a leading South Korean dairy company, was arrested earlier this month on charges of illegal drug use and the prosecution has taken over her case.

Hwang and Park’s engagement was announced in April 2017, but the couple broke up in September of the same year.

“Although Park Yoo-chun has already said that he has not used drugs in the press conference held on April 10, he will sincerely undergo police investigation,” said Park’s legal representative Kwon Changbum.

Last week, Park vigorously denied the allegations, saying, “I did not use drugs and I did not induce drug use.

“I was scared when I came across reports that Hwang Ha-na pinpointed a celebrity as having suggested drug use.”

Park has said Hwang threatened him after their break-up.

The latest case involving Hwang, who has made a name for herself as a social media influencer with a luxurious lifestyle, has prompted a new wave of public anger against the police after what many viewed as lenient treatment when she was the subject of an earlier drug investigation in 2015.

The prosecution faces fierce backlash for dropping charges against Hwang in 2015, even though an undergrad student surnamed Cho, who had used drugs with Hwang, was sentenced in 2016 to two years and six months behind bars, with a stay of execution for three years.