Updated: 1st July 2014 9:10AM
Instead of releasing an official statement, YG Entertainment’s CEO Yang Hyun Suk has revealed a personal letter addressed to fans regarding Bom’s false rumour. In the letter, Yang Hyun Suk revealed that the singer previously experienced a shocking incident in her past which led to her medical history that no one knows about. He went on to say that 2NE1’s members have been training under the company for almost 9 years yet he has never seen them misbehave e.g. smoking, going clubbing (unless if it’s for official events), etc.
However, suddenly overnight, the Bom that I know has suddenly become an overnight “drug smuggler” according to articles. It’s absurd and shocking, I don’t know where to start. Should I explain this absurdity? Would it end up just making the situation worse? However, for all fans of 2NE1, who are currently on their world tour, for the silly dongseng Bom, who became a drug smuggler overnight, I couldn’t just sit back and watch.
As fans already know, Park Bom spent a long time in the US, before 2NE1’s debut, where she dreamed of being a soccer player for a certain time. However, she directly witnessed a close friend dying during a game, and after that, Bom spent difficult days grieving and in shock. It was difficult for her to handle at a young age, and received psychological counseling and treatment, and used drugs that were prescribed to her by a famous university hospital in the US.
After that, Park Bom was unable to continue playing soccer, and decided to become a singer. She came to Korea and participated in YG’s audition. It’s a day I remember clearly, the reason I remember Park Bom above the other contestants is because as soon as I saw her, she said, “If it’s not YG, I’m not going to be a singer.”
Although she did not pass the audition, she came back again and again until she qualified in her third year amongst thousands who had participated. I think that’s why Park Bom remains clear in my memory.
The reason I’m talking about these seemingly irrelevant stories, I did not know about her medical history or her dreams of playing soccer until her father told me 4 years ago. Even though it’s been 11 years since I first saw Bom, it is clear that this is a painful memory that Bom does not want to bring back.
Up until 4 years ago, Bom has been using the medication prescribed to her, and due to her busy schedule, she was unable to receive the medicine in the US. Her mother and grandmother had had problems because the medication was prohibited in Korea.
Lucky, her medical records over the past several years and prescription from the university hospital were submitted during investigations, and was wrapped up soundly.
The letter was posted on YG’s official website and Yang Hyun Suk also offers an apology for causing concern.
(Source)
2014 has once again proven to be a scandalous year in the K-Pop industry as several K-Pop groups were involved in dating scandals and lawsuit controversies. This time around, 2NE1’s Park Bom has been found to be involved in a drug scandal as news outlets are reporting that the singer attempted to smuggle drugs in Seoul, South Korea.
The news first broke out yesterday by various Korean new agencies reporting that the singer was previously caught for smuggling narcotic amphetamines into Korea back in October 2010. Amphetamine are stimulant drugs that affect the central nervous system, the drugs are illegal in both the United States and South Korea, unless if they are prescribed. However, the drug-smuggling case was dropped 4 years ago as the prosecutors found that she had a prescription by a doctor and decided to suspend her case.
Regarding this new drug scandal, Park Bom’s agency YG Entertainment has yet to release any statements but they are currently holding an emergency meeting to verify the reports.
This isn’t the first time 2NE1 is involved in a false drug scandal as the members were previously wrongly accused of smoking pot back in 2011. The false rumours first started 3 years ago after several Korean celebrities including E-Sens of Supreme Team were arrested for smoking marijuana. At that time, Korean press reported that they had a blacklist of celebrities who smoked pot in Korea that would be made public soon. Before the list was even made public, 2NE1’s Park Bom was the first to be rumoured to be on the list.
As the false rumour quickly spread through the social media, their agency YG Entertainment stepped up to defend the girls and took legal action against vicious rumour mongers. The agency also filed a defamation lawsuit against some of the Korean press that falsely reported on the case without solid fact-checking.
Park Bom’s drug scandal sparked conspiracy theories that it was aimed to cover up a recent report about Sewol’s disaster support fund. The conspiracy theory began after an online personality retweeted a photo of the screenshots above, which translates into:
Apparently, the money raised for Sewol has been used by elsewhere by the government. 150m KRW went to a badminton court etc
— John (@oniontaker) June 30, 2014
Although it has not been confirmed that it’s a cover up by the Korean government, fans are starting to become suspicious of the motive behind the drug scandal since the news of drug scandal was released on the same day as the report of Sewol’s tragedy support fund. Many are wondering if the drug scandal was aimed to divert people’s attention from Sewol’s disaster support fund.
In any case, netizens have already started to bash Park Bom for her “crime” while the fans have started to trend #RightBesideYou박봄 on Twitter to show support to Park Bom and protect her from the harsh critics.
While waiting for the official statement of the issue to be released, what’s your take on this issue? Let us know what you think in the comment box below!
