South Korean actor Yoo Ah-in appeared for the first hearing in his trial on drug charges on Tuesday.

Ahead of the hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, the 37-year-old, whose real name is Uhm Hong-sik, apologized to the public for causing concern as well as those that suffered from his actions.

Facing charges of violating the narcotics law and inciting the destruction of evidence, Yoo said he plans to faithfully attend the trial proceedings and explain his position, but refrained from admitting to habitual drug use.

At the hearing, the actor’s legal counsel admitted to marijuana use but claimed that much of the prosecution's case on the alleged use of propofol are not fully factual or exaggerated.

Prosecutors suspect that Yoo abused medical narcotics, such as the intravenous anesthetic agent propofol, 181 times at hospitals in Seoul between September 2020 and March 2022 under the guise of anesthesia for cosmetic procedures.

He is also accused of getting illegal prescriptions for over eleven-hundred sleeping pills 44 times under other people's names, ordering an acquaintance to discard evidence and compelling others to smoke marijuana.

The state agency believes the value of administered propofol and other drugs amounted to 500 million won, or around 380-thousand U.S. dollars.

The next hearing is set for January 23.