Former BTOB member Jung Il-hoon admits charges of drug use

▲ This photo shows former member of BTOB, Jung Il-hoon.

SEOUL, April 22 (Yonhap) -- Jung Il-hoon, a former member of idol group BTOB, who has been put on trial for smoking marijuana for years, admitted the charges in court on Thursday and expressed his apology.

"I'm sincerely reflecting on myself and I apologize," Jung said at his first hearing at the Seoul Central District Court.

Jung Il-hoon was suspected of paying 130 million won to drug dealers 161 times from July 2016 to January 2019 along with six acquaintances and smoking 820 grams of marijuana.

Jung's lawyer also mentioned, "The defendant admits all the charges and is reflecting upon his mistakes." All seven defendants also pleaded guilty.

The court decided to end the defense after hearing the defendants' opinions on the evidence at the second hearing on May 20th. Jung Il-hoon, who debuted as a BTOB member in 2012, withdrew from the group in late December after he was belatedly found to have been sent to prosecution for drug charges in July last year.

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