Nafla

Nicholas Seok-bae Choi was born in Orange County, California, on February 28, 1992, to South Korean parents. He lived in the United States until he was five years old, and then lived in South Korea until he was in the fourth grade.

Choi subsequently returned to America and immediately entered the sixth grade, skipping a grade level. He attended Rosemont Middle School in La Crescenta, a suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles County.^[3] Choi went on to attend Crescenta Valley High School, where he met his MKIT Rain labelmates Bloo and Young West.^[4] Afterwards, Choi enrolled at the University of Southern California, and graduated in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration.^[1]

In 2019, Choi was investigated for illegal use of marijuana, which resulted in a suspended indictment. In June 2020, he was found guilty of violating South Korea's Narcotics Control Act by smoking marijuana in his home. Choi was sentenced to 2 years of probation with immediate imprisonment for any violations, along with 120 hours of community service.^[5]

On February 22, 2023, Choi was arrested for attempting to evade South Korea's mandatory military service. He was accused of falsifying medical records that diagnosed him with depression, as well as using these documents to apply for the position of a non-active duty personnel. Choi went on to pause his military service for 18 months on 7 occasions, and he also skipped his mandated duty as a social worker by filing for sick leave or early leave with his medical records.^{[6][unreliable source?][7][unreliable source?][8]} On August 10, 2023, Choi was sentenced to a year in prison.^[9]

On February 13, 2024, Choi was released on bail in accordance with the process of appealing his prison sentence.^{[10][unreliable source?]}