In February 2020, South Korean national treasure actor Ha Jeong-woo was exposed by the South Korean media and suspected of illegally injecting the anesthetic propropofol as his brother. Yesterday, his lawyer admitted in court on the 10th that Ha Zhengyu did illegally inject propofol in non-medical conditions, and the prosecution said that considering that Ha Zhengyu had no similar previous conviction and admitted guilt sincerely, it was recommended to fine him 10 million won.
Propofol is a "psychotropic drug" in South Korea, and the law stipulates that its use is strictly prohibited except for therapeutic purposes, and violators will be held legally responsible for drug abuse (drug abuse). According to Article 61 of the South Korean Law on the Administration of Narcotics, a penalty of imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million won is imposed.
Of course, the specific punishment should be decided according to the number of drugs taken, the place, the measurement, the degree of poisoning, etc. after comprehensive consideration. Prosecutors may have considered Ha Jeong-woo's identity as a South Korean national treasure actor, as well as his lack of previous conviction (it is estimated how long it has been abused to be found), and his sincere confession, before recommending a light punishment.
Of course, this is only a government punishment recommendation, and the ban in the industry is the most feared thing for artists. The Korean entertainment industry is very mature, and a "Korean Performing Arts Agent Management Association" was established very early, which includes all the well-known large-scale agencies in South Korea, and the well-known stars in South Korea come from these large-scale agencies, so they have a very high prestige.
The "Korean Performing Arts Agents Management Association" has set up a "Performing Arts Reward and Punishment Adjustment Ethics Committee", in addition to mediating disputes between the performing artist's agency and the entertainer, the focus is also on dealing with stars who have a negative impact on society, and the punishment is stricter than the law.
The "Performing Arts Reward and Punishment Adjustment Ethics Committee" will be punished according to the situation after the drug stars accept the government punishment, the most common is issued in the form of official documents to the various member companies of the association, the drug stars issued a ban order, usually 5 to 10 years, the serious one is permanently banned, if the star celebrity after the block has a sign of comeback, the committee will immediately issue a "prohibited" warning.
In addition, because there are only three major public television stations in South Korea, monopolizing the broadcasting and compilation rights of all Korean TV dramas, once it is found that the stars are drugged, the advertisements and TV series they shoot have the right to demand the suspension of broadcasting, or even delete the scenes. South Korean artist Ju Ji-hoon, who once became popular with "Palace", was banned by two major television stations because of a drug scandal, and his acting career was terminated.
The abuse of propofol in the Korean entertainment industry is not a new thing, and the Korean actress Park Shiyan, who starred in the Chinese film and television "Pauline Lantern", was sentenced to eight months in prison for long-term illegal use of propofol, suspended for two years. According to the police's post-investigation, it was found that he had illegally injected propofol as many as 185 times, which led to a direct ban on the performance of the Korean KBS.
The same is true of South Korean actresses Lee Joong-juan, Jang Mi-in-ai and Hyun Young, who, according to police investigations, have been illegally injecting propofol 111 times, 95 times and 42 times respectively since 2011. Interestingly, the three initially, like Ha Jeong-woo, insisted that they had no substance abuse, and finally had to admit it in the face of evidence.
However, with ha Jeong-woo's status and the box office guarantee for many years, it is estimated that South Korea's "Ethics Committee for the Adjustment of Performing Arts Rewards and Penalties" will not easily issue a ban on performances, but the impact of this incident on the South Korean community is certainly huge, and it may be possible to see how big public opinion is before making a decision.