Yang Hyun Suk, who stepped down from all positions at YG Entertainment, revealed the reason why the agency decided to start periodic drug tests of their artists.
On June 20 episode of JTBC's 'Spotlight', the program focused on former iKON member B.I's alleged drug use and the accusations that YG Entertainment was involved to cover up the incident.
Yang Hyun Suk spoke directly to the producers of 'Spotlight', explaining that they use the drug testing kit as "a preventative measure."
He said, "We do drug tests once every two months, and I directly take the lead on drug tests and monitor them. We even have an employee who is in charge of these drug tests. The kit we use tests for 12 different kinds of drugs."
As for the reason for the in-house drug test, Yang Hyun Suk explained, "We use this mostly as a method of prevention. We felt that the G-DRAGON scandal was caused by the agency's negligence, so we felt the responsibility to test for drugs ourselves."
He went on, "It's a way to prevent our artists from using drugs. In order to frighten our kids from using drugs, we have to make sure they don't use any kind of drugs."
However, professor Oh Yoon-sung of the Police Administrative Department at Soon Chun Hyang University said that his statement is an excuse.
He analyzed, "Using drug tests to determine whether they used or didn't use drugs is not a method of prevention, but rather a follow-up action. They're basically admitting that their artists have a chance of using drugs."
(Credit= JTBC Spotlight)