On the morning of June 23, Joo Ji-hoon appeared in court to receive his sentencing after pleading guilty to drug use of ecstasy and ketamine, and his fans can relax, since he got off pretty lightly.

His punishment is six months of jail with one year of probation (a suspended sentence) and 120 hours of community service, plus a penalty of 360,000 won (which is only approx US $280). That’s lighter than the one year and 440,000 won fine he had sought earlier this month. What this means is, he gets to suspend his six months of hard time while he is on probation for a year; if he remains clean (of any crime, not just drugs), the offense is essentially cleared and he doesn’t have to serve his initial sentence. To clarify: He is NOT going to jail — not yet, and if he’s clean for his probation, not ever.

The decision was explained, “The nature of the crime is by no means light. However, he has reflected deeply on the crime and has not taken any drugs since the time a year and two months ago. Also, many fans from within the country and from overseas have appealed for an appropriate handling of the matter and sent petitions.”

Joo’s lawyer explained, “Of course he must accept the price of his crime, but wrong information kept coming out and exaggerated him as a habitual user, and some of it was unfair.”

As for his partners in crime, actress and trafficker Yoon Seol-hee was given three years in jail, while model and financer Yeh Hak-young and the unidentified Mr./Ms. Jeon were both given two and a half years of jail, but with four years of suspended-sentence probation, plus two years of regular probation and 200 hours of community service.

Via My Daily

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Joo Ji-hoon arrives at court on June 9

Correction: Apologies, I read further to see that the punishment is not final. The prosecutors sought the stated prison terms for the accused, but the official sentencing comes in two weeks.

Joo Ji-hoon appeared at the Seoul Central District Court on June 9 for a hearing after being caught using drugs (ecstasy and ketamine), where he sought a 1-year prison term and a penalty of 440,000 won.

On this day, Joo Ji-hoon, actress Yoon Seol-hee, and model Yeh Hak-young all admitted to their wrongdoing, and Joo said, “I am deeply regretful of my mistake.” In his final statements, he added, “As one person acting in one moment, I could not restrain my curiosity and ended up hurting many people. I have vowed not to do anything like this again.”

His lawyer added, “Joo Ji-hoon took the drugs while very intoxicated, and did not take any more after the incident last year in April. He had postponed his enlistment date to October 2009, but if he postpones it because of this incident, he will come back a new person after serving his military duty.”

The other celebrities caught up in the scandal sought harsher punishments for trafficking and selling the drugs on multiple occasions: 7 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 13.2 million won for Yoon Seol-hee, the trafficker in the scandal, and 5 years and a 2.26 million won penalty for Yeh Hak-young. They will all receive announcement of their verdict and sentencing at a public hearing on June 23.

(I know a year in prison sounds pretty harsh for a celebrity drug scandal… but I actually think Joo Ji-hoon could face much, much worse. A year is enough time for him to drop out of the public eye, after which he can serve out his military duty, and return with a rehabilitated image in three years. Given that he has to do the army duty regardless, it’s as good a time as any to drop out of the spotlight and let people forget about him for a while.)

Via Break News

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This isn’t really a surprise, nor is it really even necessary: following the KBS banning of actor Joo Ji-hoon and his partners in drug-crime (drug trafficker Yoon Seol-hee and funder Yeh Hak-young), broadcast station MBC is following suit.

I say it’s not necessary because even without the ban, it’s unlikely Joo would be hired again anytime soon, but I suppose those stations like to make their symbolic gestures. Actor Na Han-il also suffers the same punishment for taking illegal loans and bribing bank officials. (He was also included in the KBS ban.)

(In the last post, you guys asked for uglier pics of Joo Ji-hoon to soften the blow, so I went and looked for the least attractive photos I could find. I hope this does the job.)

Via Star News

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Actor Joo Ji-hoon, who was busted last month for using ecstasy and ketamine, then dropped from a drama (Tokyo Tower), and subsequently banned from KBS for an indefinite period of time, was indicted by the Seoul Central District Court on May 19. The charge is for use of an illegal drug on two occasions. He was not jailed.

Actress Yoon Seol-hee, model Yeh Hak-young (both currently jailed), and another unnamed Ms. Jeon were also indicted on the same day.

Via Yonhap News, Hankyung

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After actor Joo Ji-hoon (Antique, Goong) was named in the recent drug scandal for recreational drug use of ecstasy and ketamine (which got the main supplier, actress Yoon Seol-hee, tossed into jail along with her financial enabler Yeh Hak-young), Joo was the center of the ensuing media frenzy. He was dropped from his latest drama and had his birthday fanmeeting in Japan canceled.

Now Joo, who may face trial for his drug use, has been banned indefinitely from appearing on broadcast station KBS “until his [legal] punishment is decided.” Naturally, this also applies to Yoon Seol-hee and Yeh Hak-young, but I think they have bigger things to worry about, such as going away to prison for many, many years for drug trafficking.

This is not the first time an entertainer has been banned because of a drug scandal; for instance, singer Jeon In-kwon and actress Go Ho-kyung received similar punishments for marijuana use last year and in 2006.

Furthermore, KBS is also banning actor Na Han-il, but his crime is a white-collar matter. Na, who was appearing on the SBS historical drama Ja Myung Go, was caught taking illegal loans of more than 10 billion won and was also suspected of bribery.

MBC and SBS are expected to follow suit with similar decisions.

Via Chosun, OSEN, Star News

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