Fans react to drug charge against K-pop star G-Dragon, days after ...

K-pop star G-Dragon of boy band Big Bang is the latest big-name celebrity in the Korean entertainment industry to be linked to illegal drug use.

On October 25 he was charged with abusing drugs.

Earlier this week came news of an investigation into alleged drug use by Lee Sun-kyun, who starred in the Academy Award winning Korean movie Parasite.

Police said the cases of Lee and G-Dragon, whose real name is Kwon Ji-yong, were unrelated. They also revealed that two unnamed female singers had been charged with using illegal drugs.

Details of the case against G-Dragon, 35, such as what drug or drugs are involved and how much the singer is alleged to have used, have not been revealed.

Internet users in Korea have been posting about this week’s revelations. “I guess it’s true that it’s hard to survive life in the entertainment industry without taking drugs,” one commented

“I’m sick of the news of celebrities using drugs. Get him completely expelled from the entertainment industry once and for all,” another wrote.

G-Dragon’s previous management company, YG Entertainment, had no response to the arrest of the singer given he is no longer signed to it. His contract with YG ended in June and he has not signed with another label since, according to Korean media reports.

Of the five members of Big Bang, who made their debut in 2006, G-Dragon in particular has gained wide popularity for his songwriting and producing skills, along with his trendsetting fashion sense. Anything he is seen wearing sells out multiple times, and he is a global ambassador for high-end luxury brands including Chanel.

Big Bang were one of the biggest commercial success stories of K-pop in the 2010s, prior to the era of BTS and Blackpink. But in its latter years, their group’s name has been tainted by the criminal charges members have faced, such as Seungri, who was caught up in a prostitution and embezzlement scandal, and T.O.P, who was convicted of using illegal drugs.

This is the second time G-Dragon has been investigated for using illegal drugs. South Korea maintains harsh laws against drug abuse and it is a criminal offence for citizens to use illegal drugs in Korea and outside the country.

He was investigated by South Korean prosecutors in 2011 for smoking marijuana, but released without charge. Prosecutors explained at the time that it was his first offence, the dosage of marijuana found in his body was low and he was still only 23 years old.

The share prices of K-pop businesses face new headwinds from this week’s police investigations.

“Several unconfirmed rumours are spreading amid concerns about widening investigations into some members of current K-pop girl and boy groups,” said Bokyung Suh, a senior analyst at Sanford C Bernstein.

Shares of Hybe, the music label behind superstar band BTS, sank nearly 12 per cent on Thursday, before paring their losses. Shares in listed K-pop agencies SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment all slid around 7 per cent each.

Amid the growing global clout of Korean music and film, companies and performers are held to a high moral standard at home. Reports of drug use can be seen as shocking in South Korea, often damaging entertainers’ careers and causing advertisers to distance themselves.

Additional reporting by Bloomberg