Court Rejects Appeal of 'High School Rapper 2' Contestant Yoon Byung-ho in Drug Case

On January 18, the Suwon District Court's Criminal Appeals Division dismissed the appeal of Yoon Byung-ho, a contestant from 'High School Rapper 2', who was arrested on drug charges. The court stated, "Considering the evidence legally obtained and examined in the original trial, it is confirmed that the defendant used drugs through the so-called 'cooking' method (inhaling powdered drugs) while incarcerated in Incheon Prison." Yoon was charged with administering psychoactive substances, including diazepam, lorazepam, and zolpidem, through unknown means between August 17 and 26, 2022, while serving time for previous drug-related offenses involving marijuana, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. Fellow inmates testified that Yoon had inhaled his prescribed sleeping medication in powdered form. Although Yoon claimed that another person had administered the drugs without his knowledge, the first-instance court found it implausible that someone could have given him unprescribed medication without his consent. The court sentenced him to eight months in prison with a two-year probation period, citing the severity of his actions while awaiting trial for similar offenses. Yoon appealed, arguing misinterpretation of facts and unfair sentencing, but the court upheld the original decision. He is currently serving a seven-year sentence for another drug-related case.