Rapper Kim Sang-min of Swings' label arrested again on cannabis charges while on probation

Kim Gamjeon, a rapper signed to Indigo Music — the hip-hop label founded by rapper Swings — has been taken into custody on charges of using liquid cannabis while on probation. His real name is Kim Sang-min, 22, and his stage name is an abbreviation of a Korean phrase meaning "he can be called a legend."

According to legal sources Thursday, Judge Yang Eun-sang of the Seoul Western District Court issued an arrest warrant Wednesday against Kim on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act.

Judge Yang determined that Kim posed a risk of flight and destruction of evidence.

Kim was arrested by police Monday on suspicion of using liquid cannabis.

The arrest came while he was serving a suspended sentence handed down for a previous cannabis-smoking conviction.

This marks at least the third confirmed instance of Kim facing cannabis-related charges.

He was accused of smoking cannabis with an acquaintance in a Seoul parking lot in May 2024 and was sentenced in December of that year to eight months in prison, taken into custody in the courtroom. That sentence followed an earlier deferred prosecution for a similar offense, making it his second known violation.

An appeals court reduced his sentence in April last year to eight months with a two-year suspension, and he was released. He has now found himself behind bars again on cannabis charges roughly one year and five months later.

Kim joined Indigo Music, where Swings serves as head, in 2022.