After "drug king" Park Wang-yeol was extradited to Korea, allegations emerged that the case is linked to the "Burning Sun scandal" and the drug case of Hwang Ha-na, granddaughter of the founder of Namyang Dairy Products.
According to police on the 3rd, the dedicated investigation team at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said at a regular press briefing the day before, "If a connection with Burning Sun is confirmed (in the Park Wang-yeol case), we will conduct a stern investigation."
The dedicated investigation team at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency is tracking the domestic drug distribution network of Park Wang-yeol's organization. Hwang is being mentioned as a link in the case after she was known as a person who previously bought drugs from Park's organization and a major customer of Burning Sun.
Burning Sun was a club that operated in Gangnam, Seoul, in 2018, and crowds gathered after word spread that Seungri, a former member of the idol group Big Bang, was involved in its operation. But massive investigations followed after allegations surfaced that sex crimes and drug use took place inside Burning Sun.
In June 2024, Park Wang-yeol allegedly instructed an accomplice to hide 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in coffee pouches in the Philippines and smuggle it by air into Incheon Airport.
Investigators are also looking into allegations that, in 2019–2020, he instructed domestic accomplices to use fire hydrants and mailboxes around Seoul, Busan and Daegu to sell the drugs. The narcotics Park smuggled into Korea are estimated at about 4.9 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 4,500 tablets of ecstasy, about 2 kilograms of ketamine, and 3.99 grams of marijuana, amounting to an estimated street value of 3 billion won.