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"G-Dragon" member avoids marijuana smoking charges

A member of the popular boy band Big Bang has been found to have illegally smoked marijuana but was released without an indictment because he smoked only a tiny amount, prosecutors said Wednesday.

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"G-Dragon", 23, the leader of the five-member boy band had his indictment suspended by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office after being questioned by prosecutors on charges of smoking marijuana.

During a recent interrogation, the singer whose real name is Kwon Ji-yong admitted to having smoked marijuana at a club in Japan in May while he was on a performance trip, according to the prosecutors.

The prosecution's test of Kwon's hair in July verified his use of the banned drug, the prosecutors added.

"I smoked a cigarette, which a random Japanese guy gave to me in a Japanese club. I suspected it to be marijuana since it smelled different, but I smoked it anyway", "G-Dragon" was quoted by the prosecutors as saying during the interrogation.

Given that the singer inhaled just a small amount and prosecutors detected only a meager level of marijuana components in the singer's body, the prosecution did not indict him, they said.

"G-Dragon"'s expression of remorse and confession also helped him avoid an indictment that would lead to a court trial, the prosecution noted.

Under South Korean law, marijuana users can be sentenced to a maximum of five years in jail or fined up to 50 million won ($42,000). (Yonhap)

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