Police in Seoul confirmed on Thursday that they are investigating pop star Psy, best known in the United States for the 2012 hit “Gangnam Style,” for potential violations of prescription drug laws.
South Korean news outlets described police seeking information on claims that the singer had procured two psychotropic drugs, Xanax and Stilnox, without seeing a doctor in person, and that a third party had picked up his prescriptions, which is illegal in the country. The case threatens to open up a national debate about whether the government should expand patient access to telemedicine — and what doctors can or cannot do through the practice — in the aftermath of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, which popularized the practice internationally.
The case reportedly began in 2022, when Psy, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, allegedly first began procuring the drugs from a university hospital in Seoul via third-party. The reports were not clear about whose name was on the prescriptions, though the doctor, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, insisted that he treated Psy remotely.
“The Seoul Seodaemun Police Station is investigating Park and a physician who prescribed him the drugs on suspicion of violating the Medical Service Act,” the newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported. “Police have opened a compulsory investigation and seized the hospital’s medical records.”
Both Psy and his doctor have reportedly been booked, though the investigation remains ongoing at press time. Chosun noted that, while South Korea expanded some telemedicine services following the pandemic, prescribing Xanax and other psychotropics through telemedicine was explicitly banned and precedent exists for imprisoning celebrities in the country over similar cases.
Psy personally has not commented on the case. His agency, P Nation, published a statement apparently accepting that the artist had sent a third party to transport his medications, calling it a “mistake and a lapse in judgment.” The statement emphasized that Psy has a legitimate medical reason to procure the medications and denied the existence of any “proxy prescription.”
“Psy has been diagnosed with a chronic sleep disorder and is taking sleeping pills as prescribed by his doctor,” the agency asserted. “But there was no proxy prescription, though third parties received the drugs on behalf of him in some cases.”
Psy founded P Nation in 2018 after leaving his longtime record label YG Entertainment.
Separately, the Korean Medical Association (KMA) weighed in on the issue, condemning third-party prescription deliveries as a potentially “serious matter that could impact the safety of society at large.”
“We plan to carefully verify the facts of this case through an expert review panel and urge the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and enforce the law strictly,” the statement read. “Given the increasing prevalence of telemedicine, it is crucial to discuss institutional measures to ensure the safe use of prescription drugs, including psychotropic medications.”
Psy reached a peak in popularity in the West in 2012 with his hit “Gangnam Style,” which for years claimed the title of most-watched video on YouTube. The video was also the first to reach 1 billion views on the website.
Psy remains extremely popular in South Korea and has retained a presence in the West. He is starring in a reality television program on Apple TV+, Kpopped, that debuted on Friday.
At home, Psy recently performed at an event to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Korea from Imperial Japan. The artist received acclaim nationally for refusing a payment to perform at the government event. Psy stated at the event that he chose not to accept payment in exchange for the government spending the money that would have gone to him on pyrotechnics and concert effects.
“It became a topic that I did not receive a guarantee for today’s performance, but that is actually a misunderstanding,” Chosun Ilbo quoted him as saying. “I sacrificed my guarantee for special effects like fireworks and gunpowder. You all will be able to see a more splendid performance.”
Psy has found himself embroiled in scandal in the past, though not directly. The singer’s name surfaced during investigations of what later became known as the “Burning Sun” scandal, after the name of a nightclub tied to YG Entertainment accused of hosting prostitution and other illegal activity. The scandal severely compromised the career of then-YG CEO Yang Hyun-suk, who would later be convicted on charges of attempting to cover up the drug use of another YG talent in July, effectively ending the career of Seungri, a member of the superstar boy band Big Bang. Psy was implicated after being identified as a guest at a dinner party alongside Yang, Malaysian multimillionaire “Jho Low,” and several others later embroiled in prostitution charges. Psy publicly admitted to being at the dinner but stated that he had left early and was never linked to any illegal activity.
“When Jho Low and his friends visited Korea, Yang and I were invited to a dinner with them. We had the meal and drinks with other guests, and Yang and I left the table early,” Psy said in a statement. “At the time, I just thought it was a dinner gathering with a friend from afar. I apologize for causing concern.”
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