Rapper BewhY humorously denies involvement in drug scandal

[BewhY's Instagram]

SEOUL -- In witty social media posts, South Korean rapper BewhY has humorously denied that he is not B.I, a disgraced rapper who left K-pop band iKON after apologizing for attempting to purchase drugs.

"I am 'BewhY," the 25-year-old said in an Instagram slideshow-style post. He said he had never seen drugs in his life. The post is aimed at preventing confusion among fans who have mistaken the rapper for B.I. Their names sound similar when they are pronounced in Korean.

BewhY's name unexpectedly topped the real-time trending search keywords chart of Naver, South Korea's largest web portal, when the drug scandal involving B.I surfaced on Wednesday. Some fans have left critical comments on BewhY's social media.

[BewhY's Instagram]

Confusion and misunderstandings erupted when Dispatch, a South Korean online media outlet, reported that B.I had attempted to buy drugs. The media outlet also released edited screenshots of a smartphone messenger conversation between the singer and a drug dealer in 2016.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com