[MBN 'Day and Night with Kim Ju-ha']
[MBN 'Day and Night with Kim Ju-ha']

Singer Song Chang-sik has spoken out about being wrongly branded a traitor during the marijuana scandal that shook South Korea's music industry in the 1970s.

Song and fellow singer Jeong Mi-jo are set to appear on episode 42 of MBN's "Day and Night with Kim Ju-ha," airing Saturday, continuing from last week's appearance. The two will share behind-the-scenes accounts of the marijuana incident and their abrupt retirements.

"When the marijuana scandal broke, investigators came to me first," Song said. "Rumors had spread that I was using marijuana."

Song said he had actually been wary of marijuana at the time, knowing it caused pitch instability and was therefore harmful to a singing career. He said he found it deeply unfair that investigators still came to him first despite that.

Making matters worse, Song recalled that after he was the first to be taken in and then released, other singers began entering for questioning one after another. "A lot of people misunderstood that I had tipped off investigators and that a list of names had come from me," he said.

The scandal Song described refers to a 1975 case in which nearly 120 musicians were detained on charges of marijuana use. Comedians, actors and directors were also penalized alongside musicians.

Song was born in 1947 and formed the duo Twin Folio with Yun Hyeong-ju in 1967, making his debut the following year with the album "Twin Folio Vol. 1." He went solo in 1970 and won wide public affection with songs including "The Piper" and "Why Do You Call."


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com