Recent Scandals Raise Awareness of Legal Favoritism Towards Hallyu Stars
A plague of legal issues has hit the Korean celebrities, revealing the dark side of the Korean Wave (Hallyu.)
A week into September, the Korean entertainment industry is still reeling from multiple high-profile scandals. While Korean entertainment gains more global recognition, each scandal rocks the relatively small industry in South Korea. Each scandal leads to celebrities, entertainment companies, and Korea itself to lose face both internally and internationally.
Three recent legal issues in particular rocked the Korean entertainment industry this past summer: singer-actor Kim Hyun Joong's girlfriend accusing him of abuse, actress Song Hye Kyo's tax evasion, and the four-year-old unveiling of the fact that 2NE1 singer Park Bom was caught bringing illegal drugs into South Korea.
Each of these incidents resulted in the celebrities' fans reacting negatively, but also revealed that celebrities in South Korea are held to a different standard than the average person.
The South Korean government perpetuates the Korean entertainment industry, and these recent instances raise questions over legal favoritism of top Hallyu stars.
The first of these legal issues, Park Bom's drug issue, has no legal repercussions, due to the fact that prosecutor's office closed the case four years ago. While YG Entertainment released an explanation, additional information made the situation even more incriminating for the singer, and she stepped down from her role in a popular variety show.
However, despite Seoul prosecutors explaining that they looked into the situation, the situation raised awareness that certain entertainment agencies in South Korea have pull over local public offices. Bribery is rampant in South Korea, and has even affected leaders of the country; even though Park Bom has returned to her public activities, the whole issue has raised awareness of favoritism towards Hallyu stars.
Kim Hyun Joong's abuse case has also raised questions of the legal system in South Korea favoring idols, since the singer-actor was able to continue performing his concert tour abroad even after the accusations were filed with local police. Rather than having to return immediately and address the allegations at the police, Kim Hyun Joong held a concert in Thailand and only afterwards returned to Korea. There is some confusion in regards to why the idol hasn't had to immediately turn himself in.
The idol has also postponed his military enlistment date originally set as October 7. Korean men must serve in the military, and there is often outrage when idols delay their service, since it happens regularly and most men don't have that opportunity to postpone duty due to their careers.
Song Hye Kyo's case differs from both Kim and Park's cases, as it was quickly revealed that she had evaded taxes unintentionally and was able to pay back the difference and fines. The actress claimed that her accountant had been the one to handle her taxes in 2009, 2010, and 2011, when the equivalent of several million dollars were omitted from her income taxes. She has publicly apologized.
However, even while she paid and handled the scandal head on, Song Hye Kyo was picked as the "Exemplary Taxpayer" by the local tax office in 2009, immediately before the evasion began. As part of the honor, Song was able to defer a tax probe for two years following the award.The Korea Times reported that the fact that the tax evasion occurred immediately following the award has led to a public uproar and doubts over whether the picking of Song Hye Kyo in 2009 was planned.
As Korean celebrities are consistently portrayed as the face of South Korea, moral and legal failings of these entertainers affect more than just the individuals. Legal favoritism aside, each of these high profile cases has made global headlines, not only highlighting the popularity of the Korean Wave but also revealing a darker side to Korea's entertainment industry where celebrities are clearly not the god-like "idols" that fans believe them to be.
Article Source: http://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/106902/20140906/recent-scandals-raise-awareness-of-legal-favortism-towards-hallyu-stars.htm
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VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Plague (n.) ~ a widespread affliction
2. Reel (v.) ~ to be thrown off-balance
3. High-profile (adj.) ~ well-publicized presence
4. Perpetuate (v.) ~ to prolong the existence of
5. Repercussion (n.) ~ an often indirect result of an event or action
6. Incriminate (v.) ~ to cause to appear guilty of a crime or fault
7. Step down (phrasal verb) ~ to resign from a post
8. Rampant (adj.) ~ occurring without restraint and frequently
9. Enlist (v.) ~ to engage the support or cooperation of
10. Omit (v.) ~ to fail to include or mention
11. Defer (v.) ~ to put off or postpone
12. Uproar (n.) ~ a commotion or disturbance
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. What are the 3 scandals mentioned in the article and who are the people involved in them?
2. Why is it that the wrongdoings of celebrities are usually made into headlines?
3. Do you believe that famous people receive favorable treatment even when they made a mistake?
4. Some people believe that celebrities should be punished more harshly when they violated the law. Do you agree with this? Why?
5. Hallyu is sweeping other countries and because of that these issues are also publicized in international news agencies. So, how do these incidents affect the image of the Korean society?
