Choi Yoojung says she took diet pills as a trainee

According to Newsis, singer Choi Yoojung spoke about taking diet pills during her trainee years and the side effects she felt. The report said the I.O.I member appeared on the 4th on a YouTube channel run by broadcaster Park Se-mi, where the two discussed their experiences with diet pills.

Park said during the conversation that she had taken diet pills in her 20s and said, 'Back then, I did not recognize the danger like that,' according to the report. She recalled showering at a hotel and feeling as if someone was watching from outside the door. Park said it felt like 'a look from someone trying to hurt me' and described it as a side effect of the medicine involving delusions and imagination.

Newsis reported that Choi then shared her own account. Choi said her company told her to lose weight when she was a trainee: 'I was at a normal weight, but because they told me to lose it, I was still growing and had no choice but to lose weight.'

Choi said she took the pills without telling the company because she was desperate. She said the side effects included dry mouth, odor, palpitations and nausea. Choi described the experience as 'too dangerous,' and Newsis reported that Choi and Park agreed dieting should be done through exercise and eating habits rather than pills.

I took it without telling the company and kept it secret because I was desperate.