BJ Gwajeupseyeon Booked on Drug Charges, Responds Live on Air the Same Day

Internet broadcaster Gwajeupseyeon (real name In Se-yeon, 25), who came to wider public attention through Netflix's reality competition The Influencer, was booked without detention by the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul on July 30 under the Narcotics Control Act for allegedly taking zolpidem, a prescription sedative classified as a psychotropic substance in South Korea. The case connects to a pattern that South Korean investigators have tracked with increasing frequency: the proxy prescription of controlled sleep aids, in which one person obtains a prescription on behalf of another.

What the investigation covers

According to police, Gwajeupseyeon and her boyfriend, BJ K (real name Park Jung-kyu, 36), are suspected of taking zolpidem together in mid-June. The incident came to light when Gwajeupseyeon was transported to a hospital emergency room, where the circumstances of her drug intake drew scrutiny. Police opened a preliminary inquiry before formally converting both individuals to suspect status and booking a total of three people on July 30.

BJ K faces a separate and more serious charge on top of the shared possession allegation: he is suspected of arranging for an acquaintance to obtain a prescription for the sedative on his behalf and then receiving the medication. Under South Korean narcotics law, proxy prescription, essentially using another person's name to secure a controlled substance, carries its own criminal exposure independent of consumption. BJ K acknowledged on his personal live stream on the 27th that he had been questioned by police, saying, "The article about the proxy prescription, that's me," and adding that he had cooperated fully with investigators. He also apologized to viewers for creating the situation.

Gwajeupseyeon's on-air response

News of the booking broke on the 1st, the same evening Gwajeupseyeon had scheduled a live session on the streaming platform SOOP. The broadcast started about an hour late, she posted a notice explaining that the door to her streaming room had jammed, and later shared a photo with the caption that she had broken the door handle to get in, and began at 8:41 p.m.

Once live, she brought up the news herself. "Did you all see the article?" she asked viewers, then added with a laugh that she had "brought along a story to keep everyone from getting bored starting September 1." She acknowledged that she and BJ K had both been investigated in connection with the proxy prescription allegation, but drew a distinction between being investigated about a proxy prescription and being investigated for obtaining one herself. "The fact that we were both investigated over the proxy prescription, that's accurate," she said. "But that I personally received a proxy prescription is not accurate."

She described the sequence of events as she understood it: she had taken a large quantity of BJ K's medication following a personal dispute between them, the emergency room visit followed, and it was that visit that triggered the investigation. On the question of a recent hair bleaching that some viewers had speculated might be an attempt to destroy a hair sample, she was direct: police had already collected 100 strands of hair for testing while her hair was still its natural dark color, so the bleaching was irrelevant to the case.

At one point she put a text statement on screen for the remaining duration of the broadcast: "I did not take drugs. I did not receive a proxy prescription. I was investigated before the bleaching. I am sorry for causing concern."

BJ K joined the stream briefly, sending 12,486 star balloons, a viewer tipping unit on Korean streaming platforms, valued at roughly 1.25 million won in total, with the message, "I can't hear you, but keep going today."

Background on both broadcasters

Gwajeupseyeon has been active as an internet broadcaster since 2019 and reached a broader audience after appearing on The Influencer, Netflix Korea's reality series that pits content creators against one another in social media-style challenges. BJ K has been broadcasting since 2012 and has built a YouTube following of around 700,000 subscribers. The two went public with their relationship in April, having first met at a mutual acquaintance's wedding the previous year; an 11-year age gap between them had attracted some commentary at the time.

BJ K has navigated controversy before. He was caught up in what South Korean media called a "coin gate" dispute in 2021, involving questions about a cryptocurrency investment; he admitted to the investment, apologized, and stepped back from broadcasting for roughly five months before returning. Earlier remarks he made during a separate controversy about his personal conduct toward women, in which he described himself on air as "genuinely trash" and told viewers to mind their own business about his relationships, have resurfaced in coverage of the current case.

The investigation is ongoing. Neither Gwajeupseyeon nor BJ K has been arrested, and no charges have been filed.