The Korean entertainment industry has been rocked by the surfacing of drug-related charges. Singer Nam Tae-hyun, formerly of the group Winner, and composer Don Spike stood before a court on the same day, accused of the same crimes.

The Seoul Western District Court carried out a warrant review (substantive warrant examination) on the 18th for Nam Tae-hyun and Seo Min-jae, a contestant on Channel A's "Heart Signal 3", both of whom are facing drug abuse charges involving Philopon, a form of methamphetamine.

According to MoneyToday, Song Kyung-ho, the judge in charge of the warrants, denied the arrest warrants, stating, "It is difficult to see that Nam Tae-hyun and Seo Min-jae have stable residences and are likely to destroy evidence or flee. At this stage, custody is an excessive restriction on the right to defense."

Seo Min-jae had previously posted and then deleted content on her social media account implying that Nam Tae-hyun had used Philopon. When this post spread across various online communities, a citizens' group and a study group for the bar exam accused the pair and the drug supplier of violating the Drug Control Act and reported them to the National Investigation Headquarters of the Korean National Police Agency.

Immediately following this, Seo Min-jae apologized, saying, "My lover and I had a fight due to our own mistakes. At that time, I had lost my senses to the point of not being able to remember anything due to taking more psychiatric medication than the proper amount because of stress." Nam Tae-hyun also posted an apology saying, "I apologize to those who were shocked by yesterday's situation. There was a dispute between lovers, but we reconciled well. I am truly sorry for causing concern to many people because of personal problems." However, the police are investigating the circumstances of them using Philopon since August 2022.

On the same day, the second appeal trial of Don Spike, who was indicted for violating the law on the aggravated punishment of specific crimes (drug offenses), took place under the deliberation of the Criminal Department 3 (presiding judge Lee Chang-hyung) of the Seoul High Court.

The prosecution pointed out that Don Spike had a criminal history of similar crimes and committed the act again despite recognizing the severity of the offense. They stated, "He abused drugs about 30 times until his arrest and had enough drugs to abuse more than 3000 times." Furthermore, they pointed out that he tried to register his property falsely and tried to transfer his copyright after his arrest due to fears of a civil lawsuit. The prosecution claimed, "His post-crime behavior is bad, and the risk of recidivism is high."

The prosecution demanded a 5-year prison sentence for Don Spike, explaining that "He has a history of similar crimes, and the risk of recidivism is very high. Long-term social isolation is needed to break the will to reoffend."

Don Spike's defense attorney pleaded for leniency, saying, "From a young age, he had to sacrifice as the actual head of the family due to his father's business failure and chronic illness. His mother and sibling are making all efforts for the defendant's rehabilitation. His wife, who suffered the misfortune of her husband's arrest as soon as she got married, also supports the defendant's determination to quit drugs. He himself has made a firm decision to quit drugs and aims to live a life of social service in the future."

Don Spike is charged with purchasing Philopon worth 45 million won on nine occasions since the end of 2021 and taking Philopon 14 times. He is also accused of distributing Philopon and ecstasy to others seven times and possessing 20g of Philopon. Don Spike, who was previously on trial in custody, is currently on probation.

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