Reports of Park Bom’s planned return to the music scene have sparked mixed reaction.

Last week, it was reported that Park Bom, a member of the now-disbanded 2NE1, signed with the new agency D Nation and fans could see a new album as early as sometime this year.

While fans welcomed the singer’s plan for a comeback, some critics pointed out that she is yet to fully clear herself of the scandal surrounding her alleged drug smuggling.

(Park Bom's Instagram account)

“So did you take drugs or not?” one Naver user wrote, referring to the drug scandal involving the singer.

Another user on the web portal stroke a more positive tone, saying, “Please sing many great songs for us. Your voice is too good to be wasted.”

In 2010, Park Bom was investigated for allegedly trying to smuggle 82 capsules of Adderall from the US to South Korea, a type of prescription medicine used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. But the medicine contains amphetamines and is illegal in Korea.

Although she was never charged and disclosed to the public that she suffers from ADHD, reports of the investigation that came to light in 2014 hurt her public image, forcing her to put her career on hold.

The singer is reportedly working with Korean-American producer Scotty Kim and creative director Ray Yeom for what will be the very first album in two years since parting ways with YG Entertainment in 2016.

By Yim Hyun-su (hyunsu@heraldcorp.com)