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S. Korean Actor Yoo Ah-in Jailed for One Year for Drugs

Yoo Ah-in arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, September 3, 2024. (Yonhap via Reuters)
Yoo Ah-in arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, September 3, 2024. (Yonhap via Reuters)
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S. Korean Actor Yoo Ah-in Jailed for One Year for Drugs

Yoo Ah-in arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, September 3, 2024. (Yonhap via Reuters)
Yoo Ah-in arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, September 3, 2024. (Yonhap via Reuters)

High-profile South Korean actor Yoo Ah-in was found guilty Tuesday of illegal use of the anesthetic drug propofol and handed a one-year jail term, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Yoo, whose real name is Uhm Hong-sik, was accused of using propofol on 181 occasions between 2020 and 2022. The drugs were administered at professional clinics, under the guise of having cosmetic procedures done.

The prosecution had sought a four-year sentence for the "Hellbound" actor, but the Seoul Central District Court handed the 37-year-old a one-year jail term, Yonhap reported.

"He is deemed guilty of all his purchases for habitual drug use," the court stated in its ruling, according to Yonhap News TV.

The court said Yoo had committed the offences "in disregard of relevant regulations" and displayed a "lack of caution against drug substances".

A doctor who administered propofol to Yoo without a proper prescription was fined 40 million won ($30,000) last month.

Propofol, while primarily used as a surgical anesthetic, is sometimes abused recreationally, often with the involvement of medical professionals who may be willing to provide it without a legitimate clinical need.

An overdose of the drug was cited as the cause of pop star Michael Jackson's death in 2009.

"I am sorry for having caused concern to many people," Yoo was quoted as saying in court by Yonhap.

Yoo rose to stardom in the South following his debut in 2003, starring in a range of television dramas and films across genres, and becoming one of the country's most recognizable actors.

This trial marks the latest drug scandal to hit South Korea.

In a similar incident, K-pop star G-Dragon faced allegations of drug use and was questioned by police, but the case was dropped in November due to insufficient evidence.

Actor Lee Sun-kyun, known for his role in the Oscar-winning film "Parasite", took his own life in December after being accused of illegal substance use, sparking public outrage over what many perceived as an excessive investigation by the police without substantial evidence.

Lee Jae-yong, then vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, was convicted in 2021 of illegally using propofol and was fined 70 million won. He was found guilty of repeatedly receiving the anesthetic at a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul on numerous occasions over several years.

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André 3000's Alt-Jazz, ‘No Bars’ Solo Album Stunned Fans. Now, It’s up for Grammys

André Benjamin, also known as Andre 3000, arrives at the 30th Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, Calif., on Feb. 21, 2015. (AP)
André Benjamin, also known as Andre 3000, arrives at the 30th Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, Calif., on Feb. 21, 2015. (AP)
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André 3000's Alt-Jazz, ‘No Bars’ Solo Album Stunned Fans. Now, It’s up for Grammys

André Benjamin, also known as Andre 3000, arrives at the 30th Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, Calif., on Feb. 21, 2015. (AP)
André Benjamin, also known as Andre 3000, arrives at the 30th Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, Calif., on Feb. 21, 2015. (AP)

No one was expecting it. Late last year, André 3000 released his debut solo album, "New Blue Sun," 18 years after his legendary rap group Outkast's last studio album, "Idlewild."

But "New Blue Sun" has "no bars," he jokes. It's a divergence from rap because "there was nothing I was liking enough to rap about, or I didn't feel it sounded fresh. I'm not about to serve you un-fresh (expletive.)"

Instead, he offered up a six-track instrumental album of ambient alt-jazz — with special attention paid to the flute.

"The sound, that's how I got into it," he says of the instrument. "The portability, too. You can't tote around a piano and play in Starbucks."

He's also invested in the flute's history — like learning about Mayan flutes made from clay, a design he had re-created in cedarwood. "There’s all kinds of fables and, you know, indigenous stories that go along with playing the flute — playing like the birds or playing your heart like the wind — it kind of met (me) where I was in life," he says.

"Flutes — wind instruments in general — are the closest thing you get to actually hearing a human," he continues. "You're actually hearing the breath of a person."

"New Blue Sun" is a stunning collection, one that has earned André 3000 three new Grammy Award nominations: album of the year, alternative jazz, and instrumental composition. Those arrive exactly 25 years after the 1999 Grammys, where Outkast received their first nomination — for "Rosa Parks," from their third album, "Aquemini" — and 20 years after the group won album of the year for "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below."

"It matters because we all want to be acknowledged or recognized," André 3000 says of his new Grammy nominations. "It's a type of proof of connection, in some type of way ... especially with the Grammys, because it's voted on by a committee of musicians and people in the industry."

He's a bit surprised by the attention, too, given the type of album he created. "We have no singles on the radio, not even singles that are hot in the street," he says. "When you're sitting next to Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, these are highly, hugely popular music artists, I'm satisfied just because of that ... we won just to be a part of the whole conversation."

He theorizes that it may be because popular music listening habits are broadening. "A lot of artists are just trying different things. Even, you know, the album that Beyoncé is nominated for, it’s not her normal thing," he says of her country-and-then-some record, "Cowboy Carter.We’re in this place where things are kind of shifting and moving."

For André 3000, "New Blue Sun" has allowed him to "feel like a whole new artist," but it is also an extension of who he's always been. "Being on the road with Outkast and picking up a bass clarinet at a pawn shop in New York and just sitting on the back of the bus playing with it — these things have been around," he says.

He's also always embraced "newness," as he puts it, experimenting creatively "even if it sounds non-masterful."

"Even producing for Outkast, I was just learning these instruments. If I ... put my hands down and play ‘Ms. Jackson,’ I'm not knowing what I'm playing. But I like it," he says.

As for a new Outkast album, "I never say never," he says. "But I can say that the older I get, I feel like that time has happened."