receiving prescriptions for psychotropic medication between 2022 and 2025<\/a> without undergoing in-person examination and having a third party, including his manager, collect the medication for him.<\/p>\nUnder South Korea\u2019s Medical Service Act, prescriptions generally can be issued only following an in-person examination and must be received by the patient.<\/p>\n
The medications reportedly included Xanax and Stilnox. Xanax contains alprazolam, commonly prescribed to treat anxiety and panic disorders, while Stilnox contains zolpidem, a sleep aid used to treat insomnia. Both are legally approved in South Korea but are classified as psychotropic substances that require medical supervision because of the risk of dependence and other side effects.<\/p>\n
Psychotropic medications are classified as controlled narcotics under South Korean law. While proxy collection is permitted in limited circumstances \u2013 such as for patients undergoing long-term treatment for the condition or those with mobility difficulties \u2013 designated representatives must submit supporting documents, including a copy of the patient\u2019s identification and proof of eligibility.<\/p>\n
Psy, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, was first booked by the police in connection with the allegations that surfaced in August 2025. His agency P Nation later apologised in a statement, saying that having a third party pick up prescription sleeping medication on the singer\u2019s behalf was \u201ca clear mistake and lapse in judgment\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cPsy has been diagnosed with chronic sleep disorders and has been taking prescribed sleeping medication under the guidance of medical professionals,\u201d P Nation said on Aug 28, 2025. \u201cHe has taken the medication in accordance with prescribed dosages and medical instructions, and there was no proxy prescription involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring that process, there were instances in which a third party collected the medication on his behalf, and a police investigation is currently under way. We once again apologise for causing concern,\u201d the singer\u2019s agency added. THE KOREA HERALD\/ASIA NEWS NETWORK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEOUL \u2013 Psy, the South Korean singer behind K-pop mega-hit Gangnam Style (2012), has been referred to prosecutors…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":458455,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,157,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-458454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}