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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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‘Dirty Dancing,’ ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ ‘Up in Smoke’ among Movies Entering the National Film Registry

This image released by the Library of Congress shows James Cagney, right, in a scene from the 1938 film "Angels with Dirty Faces." (Warner Bros/Discovery/Library of Congress via AP)
This image released by the Library of Congress shows James Cagney, right, in a scene from the 1938 film "Angels with Dirty Faces." (Warner Bros/Discovery/Library of Congress via AP)
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‘Dirty Dancing,’ ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ ‘Up in Smoke’ among Movies Entering the National Film Registry

This image released by the Library of Congress shows James Cagney, right, in a scene from the 1938 film "Angels with Dirty Faces." (Warner Bros/Discovery/Library of Congress via AP)
This image released by the Library of Congress shows James Cagney, right, in a scene from the 1938 film "Angels with Dirty Faces." (Warner Bros/Discovery/Library of Congress via AP)

Nobody puts baby in a corner, but they're putting her in the National Film Registry.

“Dirty Dancing,” along with another 1980s culture-changer, “Beverly Hills Cop,” are entering the Library of Congress' registry, part of an annual group of 25 announced Wednesday that spans 115 years of filmmaking.

“Dirty Dancing” from 1987 used the physicality and chemistry of Patrick Swayze as Johnny Castle and Jennifer Grey as Frances “Baby” Houseman to charm generations of moviegoers, while also taking on issues like abortion, classism and antisemitism. In the climactic moment, Swayze defiantly declares, “Nobody puts baby in a corner” before taking Grey to dance to “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.”

1984's “Beverly Hills Cop,” the first Eddie Murphy film in the registry, arguably made him the world's biggest movie star at the time and made action comedies a blockbuster staple for a decade.

Since 1988, the Librarian of Congress has annually selected movies for preservation that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. The current picks bring the registry to 900 films. Turner Classic Movies will host a TV special on Wednesday, screening a selection of the class of 2024.

The oldest film is from 1895 and brought its own form of dirty dancing: “Annabelle Serpentine Dance” is a minute-long short of a shimmying Annabelle Moore that was decried by many as a public indecency for the suggestiveness of her moves. The newest is David Fincher's “The Social Network" from 2010.

A look at some of the films entering the registry “Pride of the Yankees” (1942): The film became the model for the modern sports tear-jerker, with Gary Cooper playing Lou Gehrig and delivering the classic real-life line: “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”

“The Miracle Worker” (1962): Anne Bancroft won an Oscar for best actress for playing title character Anne Sullivan and 16-year-old Patty Duke won best supporting actress for playing her deaf and blind protege Helen Keller in director Arthur Penn's film.

“Up in Smoke” (1978): The first feature to star the duo of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong established a template for the stoner genre and brought weed culture to the mainstream. Marin, who also appears in the inductee “Spy Kids” from 2001, is one of many Latinos with prominent roles in this year's crop of films.

“Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan” (1982): The second movie in the “Star Trek” franchise featured one of filmdom's great villains in Ricardo Montalban's Khan, and showed that the world of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock could bring vital thrills to the cinema.

“Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt” (1989): The Oscar-winning documentary on the NAMES Project Aids Memorial Quilt was a landmark telling of the devastation wrought by the disease.

“My Own Private Idaho” (1991): Director Gus Van Sant's film featured perhaps the greatest performance of River Phoenix, a year before the actor's death at age 23.

“American Me” (1992): Edward James Olmos starred and made his film directorial debut in this tale of Chicano gang life in Los Angeles and the brutal prison experience of its main character.

“No Country for Old Men” (2007): Joel and Ethan Coen broke through at the Oscars with their adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel, winning best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay, while Javier Bardem won best supporting actor for playing a relentless killer with an unforgettable haircut.