K-pop's Park Bom defies drug rumours, releases first solo album since leaving 2NE1
Former 2NE1 singer Park Bom on Wednesday (Mar 13) released her first new music since leaving YG Entertainment. (Photo: Facebook/2NE1)
Former 2NE1 singer Park Bom returned to the K-pop scene with a mini album on Wednesday (Mar 13) - her first music release since leaving the band and agency YG Entertainment in 2017.
The triple track record Spring, which is the English word for her name, is also Bom's first solo release since 2011's Don't Cry.
The album also features her 2NE1 bandmate, Sandara Park, who is still signed to YG.
Prior to the album release, Park Bom's management agency had urged the public to adopt a 'warmer attitude" towards the 30-year-old, who remained stigmatised despite being cleared of drug-trafficking over a 2010 case.
Park Bom reportedly ordered 80 Adderall pills from the US in 2010 - an amphetamine-based nervous stimulant that is banned in South Korea. The shipment was intercepted by authorities, who then interrogated the singer.
Bom, who suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and YG stated that the drug was for medical treatment and had been prescribed to the artist in the US.
She was not officially charged, but even after clarifications were made after the news broke in 2014, she continued to be subjected to accusations of drug trafficking, Korean state media reported.
"The import of the medicine Adderall in 2010 continues to be referred to as drug trafficking, but (we want to) correct this because Park Bom clearly did not take (illegal) drugs," said D Nation.
Citing D Nation, Yonhap reported that Bom had brought the pills into the country "out of ignorance" and had not known the US FDA-approved medicine was classified as an illegal drug in South Korea.
Bom is currently receiving treatment in a local hospital and taking an alternative to Adderall.
"There were difficult times, but she is trying to stand alone with courage. She is very cautious ahead of her new start, but (we) wish for (the public) to have a warmer attitude towards her," the agency said.
