Celebrity

Nam Tae-hyun on the Verge of Arrest: The Endless Controversies of the Former WINNER Member

May 17, 2023 | by Samriddhi Dastidar

Singer Nam Tae-hyun and TV personality Seo Min-jae are on the precipice of arrest on charges of drug abuse.

The Yongsan Police Station in Seoul has recently applied for arrest warrants against Nam Tae-hyun and Seo Min-jae for violations of the Narcotics Control Act.

Both are accused of abusing Philopon, a type of methamphetamine, together since August last year.

Nam Tae-hyun on the Verge of Arrest: The Endless Controversies of the Former WINNER Member

(Photo : Snowy Boy/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0))
Nam Tae-hyun on the Verge of Arrest: The Endless Controversies of the Former WINNER Member

Back in August, Seo Min-jae stirred controversy when she posted on her social media, "Nam Tae-hyun does Philopon. There's a syringe used (for drug injection) in my room or company cabinet. And he hit me," revealing a picture taken with Nam Tae-hyun. Seo Min-jae also added fuel to the controversy by admitting her own drug abuse, stating, "Nam Tae-hyun and I are drug addicts."

As the controversy grew, the two admitted their romantic relationship and explained that they had had a fight. In particular, Seo Min-jae explained, "I had lost my senses to the point where I couldn't remember things correctly because I had taken more psychiatric medication due to stress," but made no comment regarding the drug abuse allegations.

As a result, the police launched an investigation following the suspicion of the netizens who suspected the two's drug abuse, and it was reported that they received positive Philopon results from the National Forensic Service.

The suspects' questioning before the arrest (warrant review) is scheduled to be held at the Seoul Western District Court at 10:30 a.m. on the 18th.

In the midst of all this, Nam Tae-hyun also had a case of drunk driving forwarded to the prosecutors in March, apart from the drug abuse allegations.

(Photo : Nam Tae-hyun, Seo Min-jae's Instagram)

On March 8th, at around 3:20 a.m., Nam Tae-hyun caused an accident by opening the door of his parked car on the roadside in Gangnam, Seoul, which collided with a passing taxi. Although the right side mirror of the taxi was damaged due to the accident, it was reported that he had reached an agreement with the taxi driver.

However, Nam Tae-hyun was caught drunk driving when it was revealed that he drove the vehicle after the accident. According to the police's alcohol measurement, Nam Tae-hyun's blood alcohol concentration was 0.114%, exceeding the license cancellation level of 0.08%.

Afterward, the police summoned Nam Tae-hyun for an investigation and confirmed that it was indeed a case of drunk driving.

In relation to this, Nam Tae-hyun's side explained, "Contrary to what some media outlets reported, Nam Tae-hyun did not drive tens of meters after colliding with a taxi, but moved about 5 meters forward and parked again."

However, they bowed their heads, saying, "There is no excuse for making a rash judgment even though he was drunk," and "He deeply regrets his mistake and will fully cooperate with the police investigation and accept any punishment for his wrongdoing. We deeply apologize to everyone."

Nam Tae-hyun debuted as a member of the group WINNER under YG Entertainment in 2014 but left after two years. He then formed the band South Club and has been active as a vocalist.

However, rather than his musical activities, he has been more highlighted for various controversies. He was criticized for smoking in front of an audience during a performance in 2017, and in 2019, he publicly dated singer Jang Jae-in, but stirred controversy when Jang Jae-in raised suspicions of two-timing.

On the other hand, Seo Min-jae appeared on Channel A's dating reality show 'Heart Signal 3' in 2020 and gained attention for revealing that she was working as an auto mechanic.