YG Entertainment finally issued an apology for T.O.P's marijuana scandal and drug overdose as the singer continued to be confined in the intensive care unit (ICU) at the Seoul hospital.
However, the company is being blamed for the poor management of its artists, that resulted in past scandals.
"We bow our heads in apology to everyone who was disappointed and hurt by the shameful situation around T.O.P. As the hospital said in their official statement, T.O.P lost consciousness in the dorm for the Seoul Police 4th Squad on June 6, was moved to the Seoul Ewha University Mokdong Hospital emergency room, and is being cared for in the ICU for the past three days," it said, according to AllKpop.
YG Entertainment added, "We are wishing for T.O.P to recover as fast as he can. YG Entertainment is taking all the blame for this situation. We will accept the fact that we did not live up to expectations, and will take criticism with a heavy heart. We will try our best to make sure something like this never happens again. We apologize once again for worrying many people."
T.O.P has been in the hospital for three days for overdose of the drug benzodiazepine, a tranquilizer. Common brand names of the drug are Valium and Xanax.
He was charged in court with smoking marijuana four times last October in violation of Korea's narcotics law.
T.O.P's predicament is an example of YG Entertainment's poor management of its artists.
He "hit the rock bottom of his successful 10-year-plus career this week," Yonhap News reported. This is the third time that YG Entertainment has been involved in a drug scandal.
G-Dragon, leader of Big Bang, was found to have smoked marijuana in a Japanese club in May 2011.
"I smoked a cigarette that 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 told prosecutors, the report added.
Park Bom of girl group 2NE1 went on hiatus in 2014 after a report stated that she tried to smuggle 80 pieces of amphetamine to Korea from the US through international courier. She said she took the drug for health purposes.
Big Bang members Daesung and Seungri were also involved in traffic accidents.
But the problem seems to be that YG Entertainment could not control Big Bang.
"In terms of power dynamics, BIGBANG has the upper hand over YG, since they can always walk away from YG when the contract expires," a source who specialized in digital marketing told Yonhap.
