BtoB star Jung Ilhoon under probe for marijuana use, says agency Cube Entertainment issuing apology for rapper
Cube Entertainment has released an official statement regarding reports of marijuana use investigation into K-pop band BToB's member Jung Ilhoon. "Hello, this is Cube Entertainment. After checking with Jung Ilhoon in regard to the news released earlier today, it has been confirmed that he has been summoned by the police investigation agency for questioning on charges of smoking marijuana, as previously reported," the agency said in the statement, which was released on December 21. "He feels a heavy responsibility for causing concern to many people, and he will do his best to faithfully carry out future investigations. Once again, we are sorry for causing concern."
This follows a shorter response wherein the agency denied knowing anything regarding a potential drug investigation. Ilhoon was caught on drug charges for suspicious habitual drug usage, according to a Channel A news broadcast, after police were able to recover circumstantial evidence suggesting his marijuana usage, reportedly including virtual currency transactions and results from a hair drug test. His case was sent to prosecution in July.
"Police have confirmed through testimonies and account tracking that Ilhoon smoked marijuana several times with his acquaintances, starting from 4-5 years ago and as recent as last year," according to Channel A. "Traces of drugs were also detected in hair samples during a drug test. We have secured evidence that Jung Ilhoon purchased the marijuana not with cash, but with cryptocurrency to attempt to avoid any investigation."
"There is more controversy surrounding this since he joined the military during his investigation," the report added.
Cube Entertainment previously released a short statement to Newsen saying Ilhoon had no idea about the situation. "We didn’t know about a situation involving Ilhoon and drugs. His enlistment was originally scheduled for March, but was delayed due to COVID-19," the agency said.
Earlier this year, it emerged that the BTOB rapper would be enlisting in the military to carry out his mandatory service. Ilhoon posted a photo of himself on Instagram late in the evening on May 27, rocking a shorter haircut.
"Hello. I’m greeting my beloved Melody and supportive fans through a post for the first time in a while. To be honest, I am writing this post to share news about my enlistment," Ilhoon wrote in a letter to his fans at the time. "I feel sorry over how I haven’t been properly communicating with you while taking a break from promotions over that period of time. You must have felt very frustrated because you haven’t heard directly from someone you trust and love and have only received news about me once and a while. Once again, I’m sorry. However, during that time I was focusing on myself and spending time taking care of myself."
"I think this is the first time in a while that I’ve written such a long post, but I also feel sorry over the fact that this is such sudden news," he continued. "However, I’m sure you’re all also aware that I have to carry out my duties as a South Korean man. It may be a time that feels both long and short, but I’ll return healthier and happier. I hope that you’re happy too during that time. Thank you for reading my long post! Once again, I love you, Melody."
Born in 1994, Ilhoon is the last BTOB member to be carrying out mandatory military service. Changsub enlisted in January 2019 and Minhyuk enlisted the next month, while Hyunsik and Yook Sungjae enlisted in May this year. Eunkwang was discharged from the military in April and Peniel doesn't need to serve due to his American citizenship.