An appellate court reversed an acquittal of founder and former head of YG Entertainment Yang Hyun-suk over coercing a change in testimony in a drug scandal on Wednesday, ordering a six-month prison sentence, suspended for a year.

In its ruling, the Seoul High Court said Yang holds a heavy liability for demanding an informant to change their testimony in a drug case involving one of then-agency artists, whose stage name is B.I, which eventually led to closure of an internal police probe.

The court said the informant, a former entertainer trainee, was limited in giving a free testimony and Yang's actions infringed upon social legal rights.

It also took into account the fact that B.I was punished for drug use after the case reopened following whistle-blowing in 2019, and the informant not wanting punishment for Yang.

In the first trial, the court acquitted the former K-pop mogul of blackmail and retaliation under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, which prompted the prosecution to add the crime of forcing a meeting with someone with knowledge of an ongoing case.

The appeals court also acquitted Yang on the charge of blackmail and retaliation, citing lack of credibility on part of the informant's testimony, but found him guilty of forcing the meeting with the informant, saying he had abused his social influence.