According to South Korean law enforcement, the Western Seoul Regional Prosecutor's Office on July 22 decided to prosecute male singer PSY and a professor at a university hospital in Seoul on charges of violating the Health Law.
Four others, including medical staff and related managers, were decided not to be prosecuted on conditional basis.
PSY was accused of being prescribed psychotropic drugs for the treatment of insomnia and anxiety disorders, including Xanax and Stilnox, between 2022 and 2025, without prior examination. Then he asked his manager or someone else to come to the hospital to receive the drug instead.
After the investigation process, on May 29, the police transferred the files of 6 people, including singer PSY, to the prosecutor for handling without arrest.
According to the current Korean Health Law, only doctors who directly examine patients are allowed to issue prescriptions. The fact that others receive medicine instead is only allowed in exceptional cases, such as patients losing consciousness or having difficulty walking.
Prosecution according to a simplified procedure is a procedure in which the prosecutor requests the court to apply penalties such as fines without opening an official trial, based on written records.
The fine that the prosecutor proposed for PSY and related persons has not yet been announced. Four medical staff, managers and others being investigated are subject to conditional non-prosecution decisions.
Xanax and Stilnox are psychotropic drugs used to treat sleep disorders, anxiety disorders and depression. Due to the risk of abuse, direct examination and prescription are principles applied to these drugs. If prescribed remotely, the person involved may be fined up to 5 million won for violating Article 33 of the Health Law.
After completing the investigation, the police transferred the files of 6 people, including PSY, to prosecutors for handling without arrest.
PSY's real name is Park Jae Sang, born in 1977. The male singer debuted in 2001 with his debut studio album "PSY from the psycho world!". Then, in 2012, PSY became globally famous thanks to the hit song "Gangnam style".
This year, PSY organized the "2026 SUMMER SWAG" concert series in Korea from June. Starting at Uijeongbu, PSY successively completed performances in Daegu, Incheon, Seoul, Wonju, Suwon, Busan and ended with a concert in Daejeon on August 22-23. 8.
