Yoo Ah-in's Doctor Testifies, "He Has An Increased Urge to Die"

The doctor who prescribed medical drugs to actor Yoo Ah-in testified, "Yoo Ah-in continuously complained of the urge to die during the consultation process".

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On May 14, the 25th Criminal Department of the Seoul Central District Court held the fifth trial of Yoo Ah-in accused of habitual propofol administration, illegal purchase of sleeping pills by others, smoking marijuana, and destroying evidence.

When asked by reporters whether he still denies the charges, Yoo Ah-in, who attended the trial wearing a suit, bowed his head, saying, "It's as known so far. I'm sorry I can't say much every time".

When asked, "A YouTuber who was close to you said he was encouraged to take drugs by Yoo Ah-in, what do you think about it?" he replied, "It's not true".

A psychiatrist who prescribed medical drugs to Yoo Ah-in attended the trial as a witness. A said, "In June 2021, Yoo Ah-in visited the hospital as a patient and I didn't know him privately. At that time, he said he had difficulty sleeping and had symptoms such as heart palpitations, tightness, breathing discomfort, and panic when meeting people. Yoo Ah-in said he relies on Stilnox, a sleeping pill, and wants to take one or two pills every day to fall asleep, but he said he wanted to quit sleeping pills. I did not know at the time that he was prescribed sleeping pills from various hospitals".

"He said that he even had urges to run away from the drama sets, and he was thinking about death from a long time ago. He said that he has panic symptoms such as cold sweat and hyperventilation when there are many reporters and many fans, and chronic lethargy and emptiness come after work. On the first day after a long visit to the hospital, Yoo Ah-in was heavily out of weight. His urge to die increased. I remember that I gave him medicine to control his anxiety because of those symptoms", he said.

He said, "I reduced the dose while continuing treatment. I am encouraging him to try drugs that don't make him dependent. Yoo Ah-in is also making a lot of effort. We have been openly discussing the direction of treatment since the (drug) incident".

Meanwhile, Yoo Ah-in is accused of repeatedly administering propofol 181 times under the guise of sleeping anesthesia at hospitals in Seoul from September 2020 to March 2022. From May 2021 to August 2022, he is suspected of illegally purchasing 1,100 sleeping pills 44 times under someone else's name.