How far will the "Ju-sa aunt" gate sparked by Park Na-rae spread?
The fallout from comedian Park Na-rae's so-called "Ju-sa aunt" gate has engulfed the entertainment industry. From Park Na-rae to SHINee member Key and YouTuber Ippjap-eun Haetnim, they have been leaving programs one after another as the controversy continues. Key acknowledged his ignorance, reflected, apologized and chose to lay low, and Ippjap-eun Haetnim also suspended activities with reflection and apology.
But Park Na-rae has not made any notable statement, and meanwhile the allegations have multiplied like a chain, making the fallout uncontrollable.
Park Na-rae recently faced allegations of power abuse revealed by former managers, and amid the so-called "Ju-sa aunt" controversy she is also accused of illegal medical practices. The issue arose after Dispatch on the 6th published photos of Park Na-rae receiving injections in ordinary homes and officetels that lacked professional medical facilities. The outlet also raised suspicions of proxy prescriptions through text messages and other materials, fueling the controversy.
And the Park Na-rae "Ju-sa aunt" gate opened. The person identified as the Ju-sa aunt claimed on her personal social media mobile messenger profile to be a professor at a Chinese medical university. She reportedly claimed, "It is true that I was a professor at Inner Mongolia Medical University from 2014 to 2019. I simply could not go to Inner Mongolia because of COVID, I suffered from the economic hardship caused by COVID, and I was late informed that in July 2021 it had been changed to a science and technology university."
The problem was that the Inner Mongolia Fokang Medical College Hospital she said she graduated from was rebutted by medical organizations as a phantom medical school with no real existence, and that she did not have a medical license in Korea.
In response, Park Na-rae has remained silent, saying she will let the courts decide. The more she stays silent, the more revelations pile up. On a recent broadcast of the general programming channel MBN's "News Fighter," Park Na-rae's former manager appeared in person and drew attention by revealing the actual pill packets he claimed Park Na-rae had been receiving continuously from the Ju-sa aunt. The former manager claimed the pill packet contained a pink "butterfly-shaped pill" that was also reported to have been found by Ippjap-eun Haetnim.
The former manager also claimed that Park Na-rae seemed to have developed a tolerance to the medication. He said, "There were times when she took two packets before bed at once. The pill packets the Ju-sa aunt handed over were not in the typical 'morning, noon, evening after meals' format but were divided into several time slots and designed to be taken at any time, so the risk of misuse looked high."
A psychiatrist who appeared on the program said of the pills, "They are presumed to be phentermine. This is a controlled medication that requires a doctor's prescription," and warned, "It suppresses appetite, but excessive use can cause side effects such as anxiety, insomnia and palpitations. Because people sometimes take it expecting stimulant effects, it is a drug with a high risk of abuse. This drug is prohibited from being prescribed continuously for more than 28 days, and if it was taken repeatedly outside medical institutions, it could be problematic."
The controversy also applied to Ippjap-eun Haetnim. Ippjap-eun Haetnim has suspended activities amid allegations related to the Ju-sa aunt. However, Ippjap-eun Haetnim said she first met the person through an introduction from an acquaintance at a hospital in Gangnam, Seoul, believed the person was a doctor, and although she once received a home visit from the person amid a busy schedule, she said she never went to any other locations.
But Ippjap-eun Haetnim was also booked on suspicion of receiving the diet drug "butterfly pill," which is classified as a controlled substance, from that person. A complaint alleging that Ippjap-eun Haetnim and her manager violated the Medical Service Act and the Narcotics Control Act was filed with the Mapo Police Station in Seoul, and the narcotics crime investigation team is scheduled to be assigned the case and start an investigation.
Ippjap-eun Haetnim's side denied the allegations, saying, "At the hospital where that person worked she was prescribed 'anti-swelling medicine,' but it is unrelated to diet drugs (butterfly pills) or IV drips."
Park Na-rae was also accused of having a conflict between the Ju-sa aunt and the production team of the MBC variety program "I Live Alone." The former manager who appeared on "News Fighter" claimed, "Park Na-rae said she was fully aware that the Ju-sa aunt was illegal," and alleged there was an argument between the Ju-sa aunt and the production team during the Taiwan shoot of "I Live Alone."
According to the former manager, during the Taiwan shoot when Park Na-rae did not come out for a long time the production team went to the lodging, and there were pills and the Ju-sa aunt in the hotel room. When the production team asked her identity, she reportedly argued, "I am a doctor. The MBC president knows and all the celebrities know," the former manager claimed. He added that Park Na-rae told managers to keep their mouths shut and instructed the company to remain silent.
Separate from Park Na-rae's choice to remain silent and fight the matter legally, the fallout from the "Ju-sa aunt" gate is unlikely to subside easily. /seon@soen.co.kr
[photo] OSEN DB.
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