B.I's agency issues official statement in response to his indictment

B.I‘s management agency, IOK Company, has issued a statement following the singer’s recent indictment on charges of alleged narcotics purchases in 2016.

On June 8, the company released a statement to South Korean news outlet Sports Chosun addressing the singer’s recent indictment. The agency noted that the recent change was for an “allegation from 2019 that he purchased narcotics”, as translated by Soompi. IOK also noted that the singer had “underwent rigorous investigation and drug tests a total of nine times” in 2020, and he continuously awaited the final decision in his case”.

Despite B.I’s recent charges, the label assured fans that they will continue to stand by their artist to “help him live out his life as a mature and upstanding member of society”. It also promised fans that it will “approach [the ongoing case] with a sincerely apologetic attitude and the mindset of always reflecting on the past and not repeating past wrongdoings.”

In the statement, IOK Company also shared their “intentions” behind the recent release of B.I’s debut solo album ‘Waterfall’ and his previous EP ‘Midnight Blue’ in the statement. The label noted that ‘Midnight Blue’ was released in order to use B.I’s influence to “help society” through music and donations. Notably, all proceeds from ‘Midnight Blue’ goes towards charity.

“We hoped that our artist would be able to use the influence he already had in a way that would help society, even if just a little,” IOK said. “With that intention, we released [B.I’s] charity album ‘Midnight Blue’ and we were able to feel for ourselves that music could be a greater help to society than we had thought.”

Since his departure from former agency YG Entertainment and group iKON, B.I – real name Kim Han-bin – had launched his own sub-label 131 Label under IOK Company. His debut album ‘Waterfall’ recently received a shining four-star review from NME‘s Ruby C, who called the record a “raw, cathartic release [that] shows just how powerful it is to creatively channel the anguish from adversities”.