Yoo Ah In's doctor admits to issuing sleep aid prescriptions under false name amid ongoing drug trial

Actor Yoo Ah In (real name Uhm Hong-sik)’s primary physician provided a prescription for sleeping pills under Yoo Ah-in’s father’s name at Yoo Ah In’s request.

On the afternoon of the 18th, the 25th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul held the sixth trial for Yoo Ah In and his acquaintance, Choi, who were indicted on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act (psychotropic substances). Yoo Ah In’s primary physician, Hwang, who was absent from the fifth trial, attended as a witness.

Hwang testified that from August 2021, he issued a total of six prescriptions for Stilnox, a sleep-inducing drug containing zolpidem, under Yoo Ah In’s father’s name without ever meeting him, solely based on Yoo Ah In’s request. Hwang stated, “I issued the prescription under Yoo Ah-in’s father’s name because Yoo Ah In asked me to.”

When asked why he issued the prescription without an actual consultation, Hwang explained, “At that time, due to COVID-19, non-face-to-face consultations were temporarily allowed. Yoo Ah In told me that his father was taking sleeping pills but couldn’t go to the hospital to get a prescription, so he asked me to issue it.”

According to Hwang, since it was a non-face-to-face consultation, Yoo Ah In provided his father’s ID number. Yoo Ah In also gave the address where the prescription should be sent, and Hwang delivered it via a quick service.

Hwang admitted, “It’s true that I used a quick service. At that time, not only prescriptions but also the delivery of the medication itself via quick service was temporarily allowed. It was on the news that government officials delivered medicine to the homes of COVID-19 patients, so I didn’t think deeply about sending the prescription via quick service.”

However, neither Yoo Ah In nor his father had COVID-19 at the time. Nevertheless, Hwang sent the prescription via quick service solely at Yoo Ah In’s request. When asked by the prosecution, “Are you saying that sending a prescription via quick service was allowed even though stopping the sleeping pills wouldn’t seriously harm his health?” Hwang had no response.

Yoo Ah In was indicted without detention last October on charges of habitual propofol use, illegally obtaining sleeping pills under another person’s name, marijuana use, and instructing evidence destruction. Choi faced charges of marijuana use, retaliation threats under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, and aiding and abetting a criminal.

According to the prosecution, from September 2020 to March 2022, Yoo Ah-in habitually used medical propofol 181 times at hospitals around Seoul and illegally obtained sleeping pills under another person’s name 44 times from May 2021 to August 2022. Both the police and prosecution previously attempted to arrest Yoo Ah In, but the court dismissed the warrants.

In his first trial last December, Yoo Ah In only acknowledged the marijuana use charges, denying the charges of instigating marijuana use, evidence destruction, violating the Narcotics Control Act, and fleeing abroad. He claimed there were exaggerations regarding other drug use charges.

Regarding allegations of instructing hair YouTuber Kim to use marijuana and destroy evidence, Yoo Ah In stated, “I didn’t recommend or give marijuana to him. I never instructed him to delete text messages, and those messages can’t be considered evidence in a criminal case. Even if they were, deleting one’s own criminal evidence doesn’t constitute evidence destruction. I firmly deny this. I never sent text messages to Kim.”