SEOUL, Actor Yoo Ah-in has developed a dependency on sleeping anesthetics, such as propofol, due to depression, but such medication was prescribed as part of medical procedures, his lawyer said during a court hearing Tuesday. Yoo, whose legal name is Uhm Hong-sik, has been on trial on charges of getting injections of propofol and other medical drugs on 181 occasions at clinics across Seoul between 2020 and 2022 under the pretext of having cosmetic procedures. He was also charged with smoking marijuana. "Yoo had long suffered from depression, panic disorder and sleep disorder while leading a life as a celebrity getting much public attention," his lawyer said during the second hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court. The 37-year-old actor developed a dependency on sleeping anesthetics while undergoing various medical procedures, and he acknowledges and is remorseful for taking the drugs under such circumstances, the lawyer said. The lawyer claimed, however, that in no case were the anesthetics pr escribed alone without medical procedures and denied the charges against him of instigating a YouTuber to use drugs in order to make him an accomplice. "(Yoo) is very apologetic to the fans who have been supportive, and he is reflective of his wrongdoing," the lawyer said. "But there are many charges against him that were exaggerated or simply not true." Yoo was present during the trial Tuesday, but he remained silent for the most part, except to say he is on the same page as his lawyer. Source: Yonhap News Agency
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