K-pop artists keep falling into the trap of drug abuse and WINNER’s Nam Tae Hyun and Heart Signal’s Seo Min Jae are the latest victims of it. Although they aren’t together anymore, Tae-Hyun and Seo Min Jae reportedly ordered methamphetamine over telegram and were using it together back in 2022.
Known for hit singles like Confession, Pricked and I’m Young, Nam Tae Hyun is a former member of WINNER, the K-pop group known for composing and producing their own music. Tae-Hyun left the group back in 2016 due to the work affecting his mental health but it looks like there was much more going on behind the scenes.
During this time, Nam Tae Hyun was dating Heart Signal’s Seo Min Jae, who has now changed her name to Seo Eun Woo. Min Jae was one of the most popular contestants on this Korean dating/reality show and played a part in the drug abuse charges that were placed on Nam Tae-Hyun.
WINNER’s Nam Tae Hyun and Heart Signal’s Eun Woo Face Charges:
After leaving WINNER, Nam Tae Hyun believed that the hardest part of his life was over but turns out that wasn’t the case. The singer was caught in a drunk driving incident and faced huge fines following the incident.
Soon, Seo Min Jae, who was dating Tae-Hyun at the time, came out with a statement that said he was using addictive drugs. She accused Tae-hyun of abusing her after taking those drugs.
In an interview, Nam Tae Hyun revealed that he was struggling with his mental health, with him having bipolar disorder and not being able to do any normal tasks. It’s a well-known fact now that companies behind K-pop groups make them use all kinds of drugs to control their diet and sleep.
Nam Tae Hyun claimed that using such drugs all the time to maintain his body and sleep schedule ended up opening the way for the use of addictive drugs like methamphetamine.
These diet pills were narcotics too, so they often caused side effects that kept making Tae-hyun’s health condition worse. The addiction and degrading mental health eventually caused Tae Hyun to be millions of Wons in debt, for which he had to sell his house and all of his belongings.
Tae Hyun couldn’t take it anymore and decided to quit the industry and make songs alone. However, Seo Min Jae’s accusation brought illegal drug use into the picture, with Tae-Hyun claiming to be using marijuana at the same time too.
The Korean police tested both Nam Tae Hyun and Seo Min Jae for drugs and found traces of methamphetamine in their blood. The WINNER and Heart Signal duo were charged with using illicit drugs and had to appear for a trial.
Nam Tae-Hyun & Seo Eun Woo Drug Trial Update: The Korean Duo Face Suspended Sentences
Tae-Hyun and Seo Eun Woo’s drug trial finally came to an end this week after they had to appear in court for their hearing. Earlier in January 2024, Nam Tae Hyun was handed a 1-year sentence that had been suspended for two years, while Seo Min Jae/Seo Eun Woo was given a 10-month sentence which was suspended for two years too.
The WINNER and Heart Signal duo were charged with hefty fines worth 550,000 and 450,000 won each. While using drugs, especially those found to be highly addictive is a serious crime for K-pop artists or anyone in Korea, the judge ended up giving them suspended sentences after carefully going through each of their cases.
Nam Tae Hyun had been using marijuana and amphetamine at the same time, but since he was ready to go to rehab and showed promising effort to stop drug use, the judge believed it was a better decision to not put him in prison for years and instead give the former idol a chance to get back to a healthy life again.
As for Seo Min Jae, the reality star didn’t have any old drug abuse charges and neither had a fishy criminal record, so since she was a first-time offender, she was only given a 10-month suspended prison sentence.
This gives both Nam Tae Hyun and Seo Eun Woo a chance to get into rehab and try to stay away from addictive drugs like methamphetamine in the future. While this brings to light the rampant use of drugs in the Korean film, music, and TV show industry, it also highlights the importance of mental health awareness among these talented artists.
