Yang Hyun-suk Accepts Supreme Court Ruling with Regret

Yang Hyun-suk, the chief producer of YG Entertainment (YG), expressed his thoughts on the recent Supreme Court ruling on July 18, 2025. He stated, "I accept the Supreme Court's decision with a sense of regret but humbly acknowledge it."

He noted that while he was acquitted of the initial charge of 'retaliatory intimidation' in both the first and second trials, the prosecution changed the charges to 'coercion of a meeting' during the second trial. This led to a lengthy legal battle lasting 5 years and 8 months, culminating in the Supreme Court's final ruling. Yang emphasized his commitment to approach his work with greater caution and responsibility moving forward.

Yang Hyun-suk faced allegations of intimidating and coercing Han Seo-hee, who reported former iKON member B.I's drug purchase and use to the police, to change her testimony. Han Seo-hee claimed that the police failed to investigate B.I's drug use properly and accused Yang of threatening her.

In his defense, Yang stated that he only called Han Seo-hee to the YG office for fact-checking and did not interfere with the investigation. The first trial court found insufficient evidence to prove that Yang's comments, such as 'It would be easy to ruin your career in the entertainment industry,' instilled fear in Han Seo-hee, resulting in a not guilty verdict. The prosecution then added the charge of coercion of a meeting and appealed. The second trial court acquitted Yang of retaliatory intimidation but found him guilty of coercion, sentencing him to 6 months in prison with a 1-year probation. The Supreme Court upheld this ruling.

Here is Yang Hyun-suk's full statement:

"I accept the Supreme Court's decision with a sense of regret but humbly acknowledge it. While I was acquitted of the initial charge of 'retaliatory intimidation' in both the first and second trials, the prosecution changed the charges to 'coercion of a meeting' during the second trial, leading to a lengthy legal battle of 5 years and 8 months. I will approach my work with greater caution and responsibility moving forward. Thank you."