Ha Jung Woo's Agency Responds To Reports That He Used Drugs Under His Brother's Name

Ha Jung Woo’s agency has released an official statement in response to recent reports that the actor habitually used Propofol, a sedative drug, under his brother’s name.

On February 15, Channel A’s “News A” reported that prosecutors were investigating a famous movie star and an entertainment agency CEO for acquiring Propofol multiple times at a plastic surgery clinic using false names. The famous movie star was reported to have used Propofol for several years under the name of his younger brother, also an actor.

According to “News A,” the actor was introduced to the plastic surgery clinic through Chae Seung Juk, the former president of Aekyung Group. Prosecutors are questioning Chae Seung Juk as well as the employees of the clinic, which is said to be a hotspot for celebrities and businessmen. They are also looking into whether anyone else at the clinic acquired drugs under a false name.

On February 18, media outlets began reporting that the name of the person who had acquired Propofol at the plastic surgery clinic was “Kim Sung Hoon” and that he had ordered the drugs under the name of “Kim Young Hoon.” Kim Sung Hoon is actor Ha Jung Woo’s real name, and Kim Young Hoon is the name of his younger brother.

These reports added that in addition to Chae Seung Juk, the third-generation heir of Doosan Group was also being investigated for illegal injection of drugs. This particular plastic surgery clinic came under suspicion from prosecutors when it appeared that many of its patients were using Propofol. Propofol is used as a sleep inducer and anesthetic and is classified as a psychoactive drug in South Korea, which makes it illegal to use for anything other than surgical procedures.

On the evening of February 18,  Ha Jung Woo’s agency, Walkhouse Company, released an official statement on the reports.

The statement reads:

For many years, Ha Jung Woo was concerned about a scar on his face. In January 2019, he was introduced to the director of a clinic that is famous for its laser scar treatment. That director was very eager to help Ha Jung Woo with his scar treatment.

Ha Jung Wo received the strong laser treatment about ten times between January and September 2019. Every time the treatment took place, the clinic director judged that the patient should be put to sleep. There was absolutely no case of drug abuse. After seeing some results from the treatment, he stopped going to the clinic last fall.

We will now explain the issue of ‘receiving the treatment under his actor dongsaeng [younger brother, but can also refer to any younger acquaintance]’s name.’

From the very beginning, the clinic director advocated for privacy and told him to wear a mask and a hat when he came for treatment. In this context, the director asked Ha Jung Woo for the names and personal information of an entertainment agency representative dongsaeng and his manager. Ha Jung Woo assumed this was vaguely related to privacy protection, and because it was a doctor who was requesting it, he gave the information without much suspicion. He does not know what exactly the hospital did with the information, but he never intended to hide the fact that he was receiving treatment.

Even though the hospital director requested it, he is deeply reflecting on the fact that he gave someone else’s personal information in this situation. He also apologizes sincerely to his fans for the misunderstandings that this has caused.

Fortunately, we have text messages from the past few months that confirm Ha Jung Woo’s appointments at the clinic, as well as conversations between him and the hospital director about the treatment and any follow-up procedures. The text messages will clearly show that he only went to the hospital with the goal of treatment in mind.

We ask that people refrain from releasing unconfirmed reports. The agency will eagerly comply with any requests from investigators.

For public artists, it is not helpful to have their names put out by the media in connection with controversial issues. Since our artist did not have anything on his conscience, we hoped that it would naturally die down. However, since the rumors kept spreading, we have decided to put out a statement.

We would like to apologize for causing concern to the fans and others who have always trusted and supported Ha Jung Woo.

Thank you.

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