BANGKOK — Thai Immigration authorities are searching for Hwang Hana, a Korean socialite and former fiancée of famous singer Park Yoochun, who is on the run from an Interpol warrant.
The International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol has issued an arrest warrant for Hwang Hana, the former fiancée of famous singer Park Yoochun, after she fled to Thailand. The head of the Thai Immigration Department has ordered a manhunt for her.
On July 4, it was reported in the news that Pol. Lt. Gen. Itthipol Itthisarnronnachai, Commissioner of Immigration, ordered the investigation team to go to the scene to collect clues and speed up the search for Hwang Hana. Interpol had issued the arrest warrant after her involvement in a drug case.
The investigation team found that Hwang Hana entered Thailand on March 13, 2024, on Vietnam Airlines flight VN 629 from Da Nang, Vietnam, to Don Mueang Airport.
Upon arrival, Hwang Hana reported her passport lost or stolen and personally applied for a new passport at the South Korean Embassy in Thailand, which was registered in the immigration system on April 3, 2024.
According to the officials’ investigation, it is believed that Hwang Hana is still hiding in Thailand as there is no record of her leaving the country. It is suspected that she has overstayed her authorized period of stay in the Kingdom.
If she is found, she will be arrested and prosecuted under Thai law. The authorities will also coordinate with the South Korean Embassy in Thailand to inform them of her arrest and arrange for her extradition to South Korea in accordance with the required procedures.
Hwang Ha Na is the only granddaughter of the founder of Namyang Dairy Products, a large Korean conglomerate. She was arrested in South Korea by the Drug Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency on April 4, 2019, following suspicions of using and distributing drugs in 2018.
In an exclusive report by SBS, sources have revealed more details on Hwang Hana’s suspected usage of Philopon, also known as methamphetamine, from 2015. She reportedly then stopped using it for 3 years, until late 2018.
Park Yoochun was also under suspicion of purchasing 1.5 grams of Philopon with Hwang, who was his girlfriend at the time, on three occasions between February and March 2019, and of injecting the drug five times. He had previously stated at a press conference that he had never used drugs.
She was charged in 2020 with violating the Narcotics Control Act under suspicions of taking 0.5 grams of Philopon with a college student in the Gangnam district. She served her sentence of 1 year and 8 months in prison and was released after completing her sentence in 2022 with two years of probation.
Hwang was also allegedly linked to one of South Korea’s most notorious scandals, the Burning Sun case. This high-profile incident involved allegations of prostitution, human trafficking, and bribery, implicating numerous South Korean celebrities and public officials. The case sent shockwaves through South Korean society and entertainment industry when it came to light in 2019.
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