So, What Is Going On With Park Yoo-chun Now?
Park Yoo-chun was once a member of the famous South Korean boy band under SM Entertainment, TVXQ, and later formed boy group JYJ along with Junsu and Jaejoong after separating from his former agency. He used to be known as Micky Yoochun before later being known by the mononym Yoochun and pursuing a solo career and going the acting path. His face used to be on various hit dramas such as Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010), Miss Ripley (2011), Rooftop Prince (2012), Missing You (2012), Three Days (2014), and The Girl Who Sees Smells (2015).
Sadly, his then-bright career came to an end when he was involved in a sexual assault case in June 2016, leaving his fans around the world disappointed and heartbroken by his fault. After a seemingly long hiatus, he then got himself involved in another scandal involving drug use three years later in 2019, adding another heartbreak to his supporters. So what’s going on with his career now? Find out the details by scrolling down this article below!
Summary of Park Yoo-chun Drug Case
The news of Park Yoo-chun’s drug possession first came into light in April 2019, when a series of connections involving his fiancée Hwang Ha-na and the Burning Sun scandal floated to the surface. After a Burning Sun employee mentioned Hwng Ha-na’s name while undergoing his own arrest for drug use, Hwang Ha-na herself was arrested regarding the charge for drug use and possession. So, Park Yoo-chun’s name was also dragged into the case as Hwang Ha-na confessed that she used illegal drugs on a celebrity friend’s suggestion.
He first denied his involvement and coercing drug use allegation at a press conference on April 10th, 2019, saying that he wasn’t aware of his fiancée’s history of drugs because he thought she was taking sleeping pills for depression. He even made a firm statement on how he had nothing to do with those pills and had never used drugs let alone suggest it, sharing this line: “I criticize myself every day as I endure pain and work hard to be able to act again and have activities.” Though he later changed his statement and admitted his involvement after being questioned and arrested by the police.
The police found Yoo-chun positive of methamphetamine, after doing a drug test on a sample of his hair and then issued an arrest warrant on April 24th, 2019. He was then arrested on April 26th, 2019, for the suspicion of purchasing 1.5 grams of Philopon with his former fiancée Hwang Ha-na on three occasions between February and March of 2019, injecting the drugs five times in total. He was also suspected of attempting to destroy evidence by dyeing and shaving the hair from his body before undergoing the drug test.
During the questioning on April 29th, 2019, the Narcotics Unit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency stated that the singer has admitted to most of the charges regarding his illegal drug use. He was revealed to give these statements: “I was scared of giving up on myself,” and added, “I think I have to admit what I have to and apologize for what I have to.”
A new report from May 3rd, 2019, stated that Yoochun confessed that he had been injecting Philopon since the summer of 2018. He testified that he had used the drugs seven times, but six of those instances were with his then-fiancée. He reportedly injected the drugs by himself out of his own curiosity at his home in Samseong neighborhood, Seoul, and then later received the drugs from Hwang Ha Na in the summer of 2019.
He was then indicted with detention for the violation of the Narcotics Control Act by the Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office on May 17th, 2019, followed by the prosecution’s request for one year and six months prison sentence and a fine of 1.4 million won on June 14th, 2019. Yoo-chun received his final sentences of two years probation with ten months in prison if he violates probation, and a fine of 1.4 million won on July 2nd, 2019.
He has since announced his retirement from the entertainment industry on April 23rd, 2019.
Park Yoo-chun New Social Media Accounts
Despite his announcement of retiring from the industry, Park Yoo-chun strangely launched new social media accounts on March 10th, 2020. Yoo-chun opened new Twitter and Instagram accounts at the same time. The first post was a picture of Yoo-chun with a caption that read, “Park Yoochun’s official Twitter and Instagram accounts have been opened. Yoochun’s various news and new looks will be shared through his official social media, so please show a lot of love and interest.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9iKZkdA2Bh/?utm_source=ig_embed
[Notice]
박유천 씨의 공식 트위터와 인스타 계정이 오픈되었습니다.
앞으로 공식 SNS를 통해 유천씨의 다양한 소식과 새로운 모습을 전해드릴 예정이니 많은 사랑과 관심 부탁드립니다.https://t.co/KSFmG8nekT#박유천 #parkyuchun— Parkyuchun 박유천 (@PYC_official_) March 10, 2020
Responding to this, Park Yoo-chun’s representative stated that he still does not plan to make a comeback to the entertainment industry.
On March 11th, 2020, Park Yoo-chun’s close associate commented on the matter to the news outlet OSEN, “It’s not true that Park Yoochun is returning to the entertainment industry. He currently has no plans for that.”
They continued by saying, “He’s not even thinking about returning right away. He’s still self-reflecting. For his social media accounts too, all he did was make them. There are reports wondering if he’s making a return, but I hope people won’t misunderstand.”
Yoo-chun is bitten by bit back into the spotlight as he appeared in his brother Park Yoo Hwan’s Twitch live stream on March 9th, 2020, with the background music of Yoo-chun’s song while the siblings talked. His appearance then was clarified by a source, “He appeared in it because it was Park Yoo Hwan’s birthday. He didn’t appear with any particular intention.”
People have been wondering whether Park Yoo-chun is going to come back in the industry as he posted a series of photos on Instagram on March 11th, 2020. The photos indicated that he’s in the middle of filming something, with the caption that reads, “Filming now.”
Park Yoo-chun Launched Official Fan-sites
A month after opening official social media accounts, Yoo-chun made another controversial headline as he announced on Instagram that he was launching a new official fan-site.
The Instagram announcement was posted on April 16th, 2020, with the caption that reads, “Park Yoochun’s official fan-site, ‘BLUE CIELO,’ is scheduled to launch on April 20th at 6 p.m. KST. Please look forward to it with anticipation and love.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Beb3PAYtJ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
This announcement fueled the ongoing debate over Park Yoo-chun’s future plans in the entertainment industry.
A Star-News reporter tried to contact Park Yoochun’s representatives following this news, but they only respond with, “I’m too busy right now to think,” and hung up on the call.
Park Yoo-chun Failed to Pay Damages
Prior to his drug use involvement, Park Yoo-chun was involved in a sexual assault case scandal with four different women. He was then sentenced to pay damages to the second woman who accused him of sexual assault (hereafter referred to as “A”). But, it turns out that he failed to pay those damages and got scheduled for a detention judgment trial on April 22nd, 2020, at the Uijeongbu District Court (according to a report by Ilyo Newspaper on March 26th, 2020).
“A” was the second woman to throw an accusation about Park Yoo-chun’s sexual harassment at an adult entertainment establishment in 2016. Park Yoo-chun then denied his involvement and filed a criminal complaint against “A” for alleged defamation and false statements.
“A” was found out not guilty in both her first and second trials as the supreme court ruled her for not guilty and denied the prosecution’s request for an appeal. Park Yoo-chun has been accused of sexual assault by four women, all of them also found not guilty.
In 2018, “A” filed a criminal complaint against Park Yoochun because he had not appeared apologetic for his wrongdoings. She demanded compensation of 100 million won (approximately $82,010). She also added another request that an officetel apartment owned by Park Yoochun in the neighborhood of Samseong be seized.
Park Yoo-chun then was ordered by the court to settle over the damages with “A” through mandatory mediation. The Ilyo Newspaper reports that Park Yoo-chun during the 10 months of legal dispute never responded even for once.
In July 2019, the Seoul Court Mediation Center then decided that Park Yoo-chun must pay “A” 50 million won (approximately $41,060) in damages, as a part of the compulsory mediation decision. Park Yoo-chun did not file an objection within the deadline of this decision, so the amount was solidified in September.
Park Yoochun continued his silence on this matter, even when his provisionally seized officetel apartment was put on auction for unpaid taxes.
“A” filed another request in December 2019 for the specification of Park Yoochun’s property in order to collect the damages and the interest that has accrued. This request was made because Park Yoo-chun did not pay his damages and has been silent this whole time. A detention judgment trial has been planned on this because Park Yoo-chun refused to respond to this request again. Whether or not Park Yoo-chun breached his duty to specify his property is decided by this trial.
This trial was in-line with article 68 (Court-Ordered Confinement of Debtor and Penalty Provisions) of the Civil Execution Act that states: “Where a debtor has committed any of the following acts, without any good cause, a court shall punish him/her by court-ordered confinement for not more than 20 days, by its ruling: 1. Non-appearance on the date of specification; 2. Refusal to submit the property catalog; 3. Refusal to take an oath.”
Park Yoo-chun finally showed up and attended a detention judgment trial at the Uijeongbu District Court on April 22nd, 2020. At the trial, he received a rule that he would not be punished, meaning that the punishment requested is unfair or that he was proved to meet his obligations within the deadline.
A later report on April 23rd, 2020, revealed that Park Yoochun has met Uijeongbu mayor, Ahn Byung Yong, to seek advice. Though the topic of the meeting was not disclosed as a source from Uijeongbu City Hall told Xportsnews, “We are aware that Park Yoochun visited us this morning. It seems that it was not a very long meeting. We do not know why they met nor what they talked about. It seems as though it was not a planned meeting.”
Park Yoochun’s representative commented on the matter in MK’s Star Today, “He is living in Namyangju and recently had a trial in Uijeongbu. He went there to seek out the advice of an adult, who is his senior in life.”
Park Yoo-chun Held a Press Conference
Park Yoo-chun gave comments on his past behavior and his future plans when he appeared in an exclusive interview with Channel A’s Heard Through the Grapevine on May 11th, 2020. He began the interview by sharing his gratitude toward this chance, “I sincerely thank you for creating an opportunity like this for me.”
Park Yoochun then responded to the question of what he’s been up to since announcing his retirement from the entertainment industry a year ago, “I’ve been spending most of my time at home with family. I often go hiking when I have a lot on my mind. Instead of staying at home and just thinking, I go outside and get some fresh air. I don’t know if that’s the best way or not, but I’m hiking with the hope that it will be.”
Park Yoochun also admitted that he never searches for articles about himself. He said, “I can’t really look at them. I couldn’t look at articles or TV shows that mention my name because it’s scary.”
He also used this chance to apologize to the public for his past behavior, and went on explaining, “I wanted to have the opportunity to say ‘I’m really sorry’ and ask the public for forgiveness, but that in and of itself required courage, so I just worried about that. After watching a recent episode about me on Heard It Through the Grapevine I worried about it a lot, and it was the reason I decided to give an apology.”
He also revealed his reason for why he has largely remained silent through his various controversies over the years. He said, “When I thought about speaking to the public at any point, it made me wonder if it was alright for me to do so. I felt one way, but I thought that people might think, ‘He’s apologizing to make himself feel better.’”
In the middle of the interview, he cried as he said, “I really tried not to cry. I think even this will be seen negatively.” He paused for a minute, before he went on, “I wanted to apologize during my time of contemplation. I realized that this feeling is something I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life. I’m feeling a lot of regrets.”
“It was an extreme decision,” he said to further explain his reasons behind his past false denial press conference. “I wasn’t in the right mind, to the point where I can’t understand how I came to that decision and said that. I was in a state where I couldn’t assess the situation. I didn’t think about it with my next move in mind and didn’t have time to think. Looking back, I think I was really scared. I received a lot of criticism over my past incident, and I thought that I might end up going through another time of despair because of that criticism, and so I wasn’t in the right mind to think about anything else. It was my fault. I accept that.”
He added, “I think a lot about how it would’ve been better if I had admitted and asked for forgiveness at the time. I regret that and have no excuses for that.”
Ever since his contract termination with C-Jes Entertainment and retirement from the industry announcement, Park Yoo-chun was swept up in various controversies regarding his activities. In April 2020, he launched his official fan-site “Blue Cielo” where fans could join for the fee of his punishment, 66,000 won (approximately $54) in total. He has since received strong criticism regarding this behavior.
Park Yoochun clarified this matter, “My social media accounts, fan-site, and the photo book were things I could do because there are people who support me. I received a lot of love while promoting for 17 years, and I thought that was the best way to repay those people for their love. Although the majority of people might not feel that way, I wanted to show everything to those who wanted to know about what I was up to. I promoted little by little because I thought that was a way to show my consideration for those people.”
Regarding his future plan on returning to the entertainment industry, Park Yoochun explained, “[The controversy] is definitely something I have to endure. I don’t know how long it’ll take to change the public opinion and don’t know if it’ll change no matter how much time passes. I think it would be shameless to discuss a return.”
Yoo-chun also has been known for being silent and avoiding the press until now. Regarding this, he commented, “I had been promoting for a long time while being taken care of, so I just thought that someone would take care of it. I was scared, so I hid and avoided it. What changed after this is that I learned that I’m living my own life. Enduring all kinds of criticism has changed my life and I’ve learned a lot.”
He ended the interview by sharing a message with his supporters: “There are people who receive criticism for my mistakes, for the reason that they support someone like me, and I’m determined to work hard even if it’s just for those people,” he said. “If I don’t give up on the future and live sincerely and honestly, I have hope that there might be good days ahead.”
Park Yoo-chun went on saying his final message, “I think saying that I’m really sorry and apologizing is everything. And this is a promise to myself as well, but I really want to tell you that I’m not going to make the same mistake twice and I’ll make sure to follow through with this. I’ll work hard to live honestly.”
Park Yoo-chun Announced A Fan Meeting
On May 22nd, 2020, Park Yoo-chun released an announcement regarding his future online fan meeting in June through his official fan club website.
“Happy Birthday Yu Chun with Blue Cielo,” (referring to the name of his official fan club website), would be the title of the fan meeting. The meeting can only be accessed by those who have purchased paid memberships to his fan club and will be held on June 4th, 2020, at 7 p.m. KST to celebrate Park Yoochun’s 35th birthday (Korean age). Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the fan meeting will be held online.
In 2020, Park Yoo-chun has been actively promoting himself. He opened new social media accounts, a new fan club website, released a photo book, and even held and planned several fan-related events. This made his name an object of people’s criticism, saying that he has not reflected properly.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAfE2auAf3B/?utm_source=ig_embed
Well, those are all the latest news you need to know about Park Yoo-chun’s drug use scandal and retirement announcement. What do you think about him? Kindly share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below!
