@49, Jin-ah,

Not the belabor the point, but like I said, you can analogize this to the statute that outlaws conspiracy to commit crimes. The basis of this crime is an agreement (doesn't have to be in writing and signed by all the parties, obviously, LOL!) to do something illegal, and then usually some sort of act in furtherance. i.e., we all agree to rob a bank on Tuesday, and then on Friday I go to Walmart and I buy a ski mask. That's a conspiracy, and that's a crime.

The primary evidence of the conspiracy would be a witness saying, "yeah, i was there, and I heard him agree." The point of the conspiracy statute is to prevent criminal activity from taking place, just like the point of a "no drug use" statute would be prevent drug use.

You don't need to test a person for drug use, so there aren't any 4th Amendment issues. All you would need is a witness.

-Samsooki

@50, sunshine,

Not really the same thing, which is the point I've been trying to make. The whole reason JJH is in trouble in the first place was because he used drugs, which, in this country, would have resulted in a whole lot of nothing.

If the whole thing took place in California, JJH would not have been mentioned at all, he would not have been charged with anything, because JJH using drugs 4 weeks ago doesn't amount to a crime. JJH wasn't busted for possessing drugs, he was booked for using drugs, which is not a crime in California, but it is a crime in Korea...

-Samsooki

@KOK,

"Seems like the press is using him as a scapegoat, the others did the dealing yet JJH who took drugs twice is being battered"

I don't know about that. Yes, the media is focusing on JJH, but Yoon and Yeh are in much more serious trouble. At this point, the focus shouldn't be on his career; it's whether he sees prison.

At this time, it doesn't look like JJH will be charged with distribution or possession. That means he avoids a long, long prison sentence. Plausibly, he may avoid jail if there's sufficient case (i.e. probation and rehab center) where he merely used what was on premises. But I'm not sure about that.

As Ishida pointed out, this is just the tip of the iceberg. And that's why the names are not being released right now.

"JJH wasn’t busted for possessing drugs, he was booked for using drugs, "

Yeah, Samsooki is right. It's the difference between showing up at a party and doing "whatever is around", and making a deal in quantity and bringing it home with you. In California, the police would just scare you and try to get names to follow the trail.

in CA (as far as I know) "every person who transports, imports into this state, sells, furnishes, administers, or gives away, or offers to transport, import into this state, sell, furnish, administer, or give away, or attempts to import into this state or
transport any controlled substance, unless upon the prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, or veterinarian, licensed to practice in this state, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison" .. but it didn't say anything about using...

Nom Kitteh -

i agree with you on many points that you said especially about how law enforcement isn't quick to respond to issues in neighbourhoods that do have these particular issues OR the lack of enforcement the law on those who don't have the stereotypical face of what a drug user looks like. but when you end a very good valid point with a stereotypical blanket statement you lose a big piece validity of that point. especially when you agree that educational issues and many different factors have affected the culture and community and not just the inflitration of drugs, hence why i was raher offended.

"That our (America’s) lackadaisical approach to enforcement has severe consequences, some that we can even document."
completely agree with this.

"It just so happens that most sociology studies on America on the cost of drugs zoom in on inner cities. "
which is why i won't put any stats up about the issue i have about your blanket stereotypical statement. as many of those studies are also following that stereotype of that is where the drugs are sold, hence that is where the drugs are done. sometimes people just don't want to look beyond the stereotype of what may be happening in their neighbourhood because "that sort of thing isn't possible here" attitude. i see that alot since i live in the gold coast of Connecticut (the second or third richest county in the states). i cheer when the media actually reports these drug trafficing or deals involving those not from my city, because part of it is the media who refuses to break that kind of news.

"My point is that drugs use has become passe not because drugs have been deemed to be harmless but because a) there are limited resources for a unlimited problem, b) there is prejudice, and c) a growing realization that the war cannot be won."

now that i see where you are coming from and i completely agree again, it was just that your original last statement ,as it was, just added to that prejudice.

@JB

Thanks for the info and the link. Your site is awesome for updates. This is fhe 2nd thing I check at work after my e-mail...you can tell that I'm very productive.

@ Samsooki

"All anti-drug laws are meant to eliminate drug use (consuming it internally into the body), right? If everybody decided to buy drugs so that they could use it as part of asphalt mixtures for their driveways, or so that they could collect and trade them like Pokemon cards, I doubt there would much outcry."

I think your are thinking too simplisticly when it comes to drugs. If we used it as part of asphalt mixtures for our driveways, there will be outcry from environmental agencies. In addition to herbicides and insecticides, runoff will be crazy polluted with hallucinegenics which translates to water pollution and eventually ecosystem disturbance. Trade them like Pokemon cards you say...Hmm let's think about that for a sec. Well my brother got tired of Pokemon cards so he threw them away. Where will they end up? Yes, let's fill our landfills with drugs! How about mixing it up with our toxic waste.

@R

"I seriously take no pity on these kind of ppl. Even if it is Joo Ji Hoon. Don’t they have anything else better to do than to take drugs? What pleasure is there in taking drugs anyway? Does he like getting high or something? Go ride a rollercoaster or something! If you want to go clubbing, you can…..just don’t be so stupid to take something which will affect your health and career(source of income).

Ppl can be so.so.so.so.so.so dumb at times. It’s actually sad."

There is a dark and scary place called the real world where there are monsters named Pressure, Anxiety and twins called Financial and Trouble. When people can't escape from the monsters, they turn to a street pharmacist which gives them a key to a door that gets them out of the real world. In this real world, there are no theme parks or a "downtown scene" or even people. Just you, in a dark scary place.

Let's not tag people that use drugs "dumb" or "bad". We don't know their situations. Even if it is bad, if I had a friend like JiHoon, I would try to help him instead of judge him at this point. The last thing he needs is another person bringing him down for one of the biggest mistakes he made in his life.

@Samsooki

I don't really see your example of a conspiracy to rob a bank applying here. Because per the example you gave their was actual evidence that the crime was going to take place......."we all agree to rob a bank on Tuesday, and then on Friday I go to Walmart and I buy a ski mask..".........it was buying the ski masks that actually did you in. Granted it was then combined with eyewitness testimony to make the case stronger. There was still actual physical evidence of the crime.

So then I tell my friend I'm going to buy smack on Tuesday and he tells the police, but no one sees me commit the crime. Their is no evidence that I went to buy it or that I actually injected it into my system w/o the drug test......even if my friend then watches me inject it its still only eyewitness testimony without physical evidence. The Drug test would be physical evidence and I think that really steps into the realm of our privacy rights...............

I'm not saying you are wrong... I'm just saying your example doesn't work for me. I'm sure there is a way for it to be written that would make it work, but realistically I don't see it ever happening. If anything I see drug laws becoming more relaxed in the coming years, for better or worse.

@JB

Sorry if we are off topic. Not trying to compare USA laws to that of South Korea, just though it was an interesting topic...but no it doesn't have any bearing on the situation with JJH or the others.

@56, JB,

Yes, I understand. I didn't mean to get into a discussion of comparative law, but I wanted to note that people in THIS country are voicing dismay for JJH doing something that in THIS country, wouldn't even be a crime. The reasons JJH's career has crashed and burned is a little arbitrary, and I wonder at the fairness of it all:

- JJH doing (twice) E / K as opposed to getting totally smashed and passing out on hard liquor, the latter of which would not have raised eyebrows.

- JJH being busted for drug USE, which in places that most of us inhabit, don't amount to a hill of beans from a criminal standpoint.

- JJH getting caught versus not getting caught, and not having the chance to mature and figure things out. Now, JJH can figure things out all he wants, but career path is gone.

JJH admitted to breaking the law in Korea, where he was 100% very aware that what he did was illegal. And so that ends his story. *poof*. But life is sure funny in how some succeed and others don't, and how some are able to mature, and others aren't given that opportunity.

I'm not arguing for him to be given a second chance - how do I know whether he is repentant, whether he can mature, whether he will mature. But I think we are quick to judge him, even though what has befallen him really could have gone in any other direction and we'd STILL be singing his praises.

@57, iDB@work,

Okay, you are completely missing my point. But that's okay, no need to drag it out.

-Samsooki

thanks JB for coming out to say that drug use itself is illegal in Korea. sometimes i wish that were true in the States. but if it was, then our law enforcement has to be much better.

i was watching a travel show the other day, and i loved the following conversation:

Travel Guide : "Singapore is a very safe city."
Dhani Jones: " Yeah cause they will cane your a@@"

sometimes i wish the states took a little harder approach to partcular laws as long as it was equal.

@58, Jin-ah.

I think you don't understand what my point is. My initial point is merely that having a statute like, "no drug use allowed" is feasible without having 4th Amendment / right to privacy issues. Evidence to prove a violation of "no drug use allowed" can be merely eye-witness testimony. This is certainly feasible because every state has criminal statutes where eye-witness testimony is the primary evidence for certain elements of a crime. Take conspiracy for example.

Conspiracy to commit a crime has in common law two parts:

1. an agreement to do something illegal.
2. an overt act, or what legal writers call, "a step towards the crime."

You need both parts for conspiracy. BUT, the part with respect to the agreement can be gotten by simple eye witness testimony. The ski-masks evidence can be gotten by a Walmart receipt or an in-store camera, whatever. That part, part 2, is irrelevant to the discussion though. My point is only that there are criminal statutes in every jurisdiction whose proof of wrongdoing can easily just be eye witness testimony.

Your question was "how would you gain evidence of drug use?" The answer is, just get someone to say you used drugs, period. Similarly, for the first element of conspiracy (the agreement), you don't need a tape recording with each person saying, "My name is ______. Yes, I agree to this conspiracy." All you need is a someone saying, yep, he was there, and yep, he agreed."

If you still don't get what I'm saying, give me your email address and I'll explain it further. I'd rather not do it on this board, when it was just a small point.

-Samsooki

@59 Samsooki

"- JJH doing (twice) E / K as opposed to getting totally smashed and passing out on hard liquor, the latter of which would not have raised eyebrows.

- JJH being busted for drug USE, which in places that most of us inhabit, don’t amount to a hill of beans from a criminal standpoint."

Regardless how many times he USE it, he still broke Korean law which I assume he's fully aware of. Why we do we apply Western law/culture to look at this case and make an excuse for it (it's not a big deal, he's only a user......)

I'm not sure why some of you are saying it's okay to use drug in the North America. Some places of employment will not hire a person that was drug user. On suspicion, they could send an employee out for a drug test and if it's confirmed, he/she would loose his/her job.

Yes, he's human, yes it was stress, yes it was a bad mistake.... so now he has to face the consequence. Just deal with it. Let nature take its course, let JJH pays for his bad mistake & redeem himself rather than arguing over if this Korean law makes sense to us Westerners.

Having said that, there is no denial JJH is a good actor. Yes, I will be watching his movies & dramas but it will take a long time for him to get back to my good book again.

@ Samsooki

"Evidence to prove a violation of “no drug use allowed” can be merely eye-witness testimony"

But realistically it can't. An eye witness would have no way of proving the drug was taken illegally. You would have to prove that a person had taken a substance not provided or prescribed by a doctor. For that you would need access to medical records. Would the "no drug use act" allow officials into private files based on eyewitness testimony of a supposed crime? What then if its found you had a legal prescription? Can you follow with an invasion of privacy lawsuit? Slander?....... I'm just saying I think its far more complicated under our set of laws and civil liberties than in certain other places.

Theoretically it could happen... I think it would take some major changes in the American psyche for it to ever happen, but what do I know.

If you want to continue you can email me at
[email protected]
just label it something obvious like US DRUG LAWS

@JB
Sorry, that was the last one on this forum.

I

i hope JJH wasn't into the hard stuff like meth, cause then he might have a serious problem. also since drugs are illegal, purchasing them supports such and even worse activity. maybe he felt down and made a mistake. hopefully he will get through this. sucks to be his friends, people will just assume things.

ah crap, i keep thinking i=Im joo hwan and model Kim= kim jae wook
i hope im not right

I feel kind of bad for him, but he is the one who did this to himself.

I'm a little scared to found out the rest of the celebrities who are involved.

RE: #66

Oh shoot! I have a feeling initial "I" is Im Joo Hwan too.. yikes!!
Wow, talk about surprises.. I'm not 100% sure so don't take my word,
but something just doesn't feel right since he's #1 right now on daum...

Without any judgment on the situation (I think both sides of the main argument have been covered here quite eloquently already), I have a question: After the investigation is over, and time passes, is it even possible for JJH to make a comeback? Is the Korean public likely to ever forget this scandal? Hwang Bo ra was (seemingly?) able to pick her career back up after her drunken driving scandal last year - this is not to equate the nature of the incidents at all, but just to bring up an example of another private scandal that spilled over into the public eye. Have there ever been any other big Korean public figures who went through similar situations and were able to recover their careers?

Re: #69

Drunk driving is not even close to the seriousness of getting caught for using drugs in Korea.

Although drunk driving is of course not looked upon well, and also hard to "fully" recover from, it's definitely not as difficult as it is to getting caught with drugs. However, there have been a few instances where some have been able to "somewhat" recover, but I doubt Joo will be one of them.

Some examples of stars who've been caught for using and have had there careeer ended because of it:
- singer PSY
- rapper from co-ed group Koyote (Kim Gu)
- actress Hwang Su Jung

Hey i don't care with joo ji hoon he deserved to get this. All i care about his bestfriend. Lee min gi, jeong eui cheol. (i've ever found one article jjh said he was closed with them). I'am a fan of them. US has much diferent point of view than asia so the regulation. In south east asia like indonesia if you were caught use drugs you will go into the jail around one year. But if you distribute it like ms Yoon and mr YEH say good bye you will be "BANG BANG" soon. What about SOUTH korea?.

By theway i think jjh lied about using twice. If he just using twice he won't be like that "stone" . It's good lesson for another actor

# 13 " Poor Naked Kitchen, it was a pretty movie… " < - this movie did not do well in Korea's boxoffice

Just something that might interest those who say "it's normal":

"Song lyricist Sonoda Ryoji (33) has been arrested for use of "kakuseizai," or stimulant drugs, the Azabu department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police announced today. Sonoda was recently detained and formally arrested yesterday after urine tests were positive. He is said to have admitted to using the drugs. Though he has his own singing career since 1995, he is best known as a lyricist of such hits as SMAP's "Kimi wo Suki ni Natte" and BoA's "No.1" He has also penned hits for Misia and Korean vocal group Tohoshinki. Though no connections have been mentioned, the arrest is more unwelcome news for SMAP following the arrest last week of member Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (34)."
http://www.japan-zone.com/news/2009/04/28/smap_lyricist_in_drug_arrest.shtml

And Extasy, while it might not create physical addiction, is by no means harmless:

"Some further studies have also shown that this damage causes increased rates of depression and anxiety, even after quitting the drug. In addition to this, some studies have indicated that MDMA may cause long-term memory and cognition impairment. Many factors, including total lifetime MDMA consumption, the duration of abstinence between uses, the environment of use, poly-drug use/abuse, quality of mental health, various lifestyle choices, and predispositions to develop clinical depression and other disorders may contribute to various possible health consequences. MDMA use has been occasionally associated with liver damage,excessive wear of teeth, and (very rarely) Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extasy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_MDMA_on_the_human_body

My two cents:
I don't feel sorry for JJH. He made a choice (just like he made the choice to smoke his first cigarette and drink his first glass of soju), and he's going to have to suffer the consequences.

I really dislike how he's turned into a victim by his fans. "What's the big deal, he's only a user, everyone's doing it, and he just made a mistake".
Uhm. No.
You honestly think he didn't know anything about what his "best friend" did? And he still associated with him? "My best friend the drug smuggler"? Ah, but after all, what's the harm, it's just "harmless party drugs" and "everyone's using them"... so JJH might just as well close both eyes very tightly and not see and hear what his best friend's doing. And they just nailed JJH usage on those two occasions were there were other witnesses.

My poor babyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

It's a pity that his career is over, but at the same time, it's hard for me to sympathize with him completely. It's not like he was raised here in the states where celebrities going to rehab for drugs is the norm. He was raised in a country and culture that has ZERO tolerance for drugs; where drugs means the absolute end for a career in entertainment (I think it's common for American college students to try drugs at least once, but I gather that this is not at all true for Koreans). And there's a lot of unspoken rules/etiquette the Koreans have for their celebrities, which IMO, can be really overwhelming (especially for idol stars). However, I think staying away from drugs is probably the most obvious and important one that a K-celeb could never, ever afford to break. I don't even think it's that hard of a rule to follow. I think JJH just got caught up in the fame, parties, hot sex, and got off from the idea of doing something "naughty". I don't think it makes him a bad person, but for someone with so much to lose, he should have thought about what he was risking before hanging out with drug dealers.

@ julie88,

"actress Hwang Su Jung"

Yeah that's the thing. Hwang Soo Jung miraculously survived it. Six years later, she was a lead again on Salt Doll. (But I think the public spin was that her BF was partially to blame for her possessing drugs.)

Not to be unexpected that his movie release and fan events in Japan have been cancelled. If the reaction in Japan to drunken public nakedness (SMAP guy) was swift (and hey it was a 'legal' drug) did anyone really expect charges of illegal drug use to be ignored? Of course not. Pretty sure (civil) legal ramifications for Joo Ji Hoon are coming too.

Such a stupid thing that Joo Ji Hoon has done, Blown a successful career for drugs. He should know the the consquences of taking illegal drugs, esp as a celeb, in Korea. This is like the best public service announcement for the anti-drugs - esp for those in the entertainment industry.

Re: Other celebs names
Based on the reports the drug use events occured in March 2008 right? While there is an understanding that investigations take time I'm curious as to why the police decided release of some names (eg high profile JJH) who were charged and now releasing only 'surnames' . It was was only 1-2 days ago since the story broke right? The police have a right to investigate and prosecute - that is their job - but this seems weird.

The leaking of suspects names is a bit WTF o_0? Park and Kim are quite common surnames right? It sort of encourages a public witch hunt of all celebs with those surnames. Why not make the statement when they HAVE been charged? Not something that leads to (further) wild speculation. Seems a bit unprofessional to me. Not saying that entertainers should be above and beyond the law. They should be charged like other citizens if they have done a crime. It's more that if the police has evidence to charge - then charge THEN release the names. Perhaps the Korean police force need better media handlers.

After the whole Jang JaYeon case (where the police stated they weren't then they were going to investigate) is this a way for the police to show they are serious on crimes in the entertainment world? A way to win some good PR for the police force. (NB I am not saying that the alleged circumstances leading to her suicide and JJH admitting drug use are the same. )

OK rant over.

@ Samsooki
You seem to be like a 'regular guest columnist' on the comments section of Dramabeans lately - you raise some interesting points. Any thoughts to shifting to your own blog?

All this sensationalism is overboard, compare what Joo Ji-hoon has done with all the drug scandals of Robert Downey Jr, and this is nothing. RD Jr is still a huge profitable and good actor. Poor Joo, hopefully the public wont be too harsh.

What's bugging me about all this is the fact that the names of the other people involved are not being released. Hidden under a veil of secrecy to give this story more steam to keep it going. JJH gets the book thrown at him while the rest are treated with kid gloves. What's with that?
It seems obvious the police went for the biggest name on the list, he confessed to using, got charged and fell from grace. The vultures are already circling ready to bleed him dry over this. So what about the rest? Are they denying it and therefore the police must get more proof than the dealers say so? I'm not sure how Korean law works but are they not allowed to release names of people under suspicion and have to wait until they are charged?
Ok, so we all know drug use is a no no but what about alcohol? Koreans seem to be fine with it and it accounts for far more destruction in peoples lives than drugs. So many young people experiment with drugs when their judgment is impaired by alcohol at parties or clubs. I've watched a lot of dramas now and it seems there is always a scene involving drunken behaviour and even sometimes made to appear cute and funny. What kind of message does that send to the more impressionable viewer?
Sorry I got a little off topic and vented!

I just read the latest news on chosun.com and it says that two people form BOYS OVER FLOWERS were involved with the drugs too. I'm getting the feeling that one of them might be Kim Hyun Joong (just a guess) because it said that he was a singer and went into acting. also the other one was a former model and tried out acting for the first time too. Anyways I've always like Joo Ji Hoon and his projects so I hope he learns from his mistakes and quickly appears in the K-media again!! I wish him the best ok luck!

here's the link to the article if anybody wants to check it out >>
http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/04/29/2009042900062.html?Dep0=chosunmain&Dep1=news&Dep2=headline1&Dep3=h1_02

"JJH gets the book thrown at him while the rest are treated with kid gloves."

But this is just not true. The other 2 assailants are staring down long prison sentences. That's not going to happen to JJH. The other potential celebs on the list? Wait and see . . .

"I just read the latest news on chosun.com and it says that two people form BOYS OVER FLOWERS were involved with the drugs too"

Sweet mother of . . .

@yogis
By "pretty" I merely meant that the movie was visually pleasing in my opinion...no other opinion... I don't really give a ---- about how things do it the box office/rating anyway...
NK, as for any movie that's made, regardless of its quality, it's just a pity that many people also worked hard and money went into this movie and now that its not released in JP, those who could possibly want to see it won't have the choice to go see it because of JJH's mess. It's indirectly harmed the career of those who were involved.

@ 24, actor I... his name also came to my mind... he's a pretty boy, also part of the actor turn model crowd... fits the profile...let's hope its not him.

More on JJH's future, imo: if straight to the army is not an option or might still yeild too much scrutiny for him (could it get worse than now?), seeing that laws are much more lax on people in his situation in other countries...as soon as he's allowed to leave the country, he should get the hell out - Maybe go travel in France and improve on his French or something-he seem to have some basic interest/knowledge in that area- get to know some independent film makers, (I'm sure he knows someone with a hookup) and start a new career abroad, he seems to like taking up weird quirky roles anyway, maybe that would suit his lifestyle better and let him extend his entertainment career in a different direction if he is serious about acting.

@ Eunice and Belleza

was writing while u guys posted... It seems more and more likely one of them IS the actor I from BBF as suspected by siticantik "
"Sorry to say… but actor Im Ju Hwan (Frozen Flower, Boys Over Flowers, Snow Queen) keeps coming to my mind and i once saw a pic of him with Yeh Hak-young before….seems like they’re close…"

holy m.....poor little girls hearts are going to get broken....

the ent industry really needs to get some celebrities with healthy images together and start an anti drug and anti suicide campaign...
And support groups....

@82..... sigh... hope its not KHJ... though the implications -singer turn actor- is soo clear...

but if its model turn actor.. then KHJ is safe.. LOL..

dramabeans, quoting your statement,

"His film The Naked Kitchen (co-starring Shin Mina and Kim Tae-woo) was scheduled for a May 30 release in Japan, but is canceled as well"

http://www.mydaily.co.kr/news/read.html?newsid=200904291004441110&ext=na
the term they used in the news is "POSTPONED", not "CANCELLED"

there's a difference between these two words - I hope you make that clear on your blog as a lot of people are looking at your site for updates, and even placing it in other forums.

a little, tiny, weeny spark can always start a fire

this thing is so ridiculous. JJH is charged with "drug use", not possession! Because he "confessed!" Using that logic, Barack Obama, who has openly confessed to trying cocaine and pot in his biography should be arrested. I don't understand why JJH confessed to using anything. Did they have pictures of him using, like Kate Moss? All we know is that the police and the Korean "media" is "reporting" that he confessed. How do we know for sure? How do you know they didn't waterboard him until he "confessed"? I really don't like the lynch mob mentality on the comments section here. Everyone here just assumes everything they hear is the truth with the capital T. He hasn't even been tried in the court of law. He is innocent until "PROVEN" guilty. All I know is I don't really know anything for sure. It's all being overblown and exaggerated. It's really sick. And you ignorant people who think ecstasy and ketamine is so bad for you, you must have never lived with an alcoholic or been hurt by a drunk driver. How many people's live are ruined because of alcohol? How many from X or K? Or Heroin, for that matter? Look at the statistics:
http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/30
Tobacco is the number one killer, alcohol is number three. Pot? ZERO.

In terms of societal harm, ALL illegal drugs combined is just a tiny bit worse for us than ASPIRIN.

Without the Japanese investment, Tokyo Tower will be a dead project.

"but the others didn’t have as much to lose,"

How do you figure? The other two may go to prison.

"here we get to see the snowball effect in all its destructive glory."

If the drug news goes back to a major member from the cast of BBF, the amount of money lost is going to be staggering.

"I meant more that Joo is the one to weather the brunt of public scorn "

And this story is just half a week old. Honestly, if he ends up having to pay for all the financial losses related to investment (I don't know what his agency is going to do about this), this will have a disastrous effect on his life and his family's life. Can you imagine the financial debt they will inherit?

"I don’t think it’s a major cast member of BBF — the bits don’t add up that way — but already the media is again invoking “The Curse of Boys Before Flowers”

In a way, this is like the swine flu of K-drama. We're all waiting on baited breath who's next. :(

@82
"a former model and tried out acting for the first time too"
I got a very bad feeling this could be Jung Eui Cheol (did i spell the name correctly??)...
really, the police should just tell us the names.. the anticipation is driving all korean (or non korean) fans crazy...

thanks JB for the update...

Holy $%$# 2 Billion Won! Wow true demonstration of the destructive power of drugs.

"I don’t think it’s a major cast member of BBF — the bits don’t add up that way — but already the media is again invoking “The Curse of Boys Before Flowers”! Except, uh, it’s not part of a curse when the misfortune is brought upon oneself willingly and foolishly."

The whole crap of the BOF curse - with the accidents it was due to rushed/poor production schedule. In this case - if JJH was charged for events in 2008, would think that this suspect is being investigated for events around the same time. When they were not even cast!

Also stupidity is not a curse.

". the anticipation is driving all korean (or non korean) fans crazy…"

It's a police investigation tracking down drug trafficking. They don't owe us anything.

My friend said it best: "Good god! Who bled in the shark tank?" Seriously, one little drip and everyone is taking a chomp at him.

I still find it ridiculous that for using he's pretty much been destroyed career wise. I understand what the South Korean Media is trying to do (drug trafficking is like a civil war, everything is on your soil, so if you don't crack the whip you're gonna have to deal with everybody outside AND in, plus it makes good money to rake 'im over the coals) but really, if they already destroyed one career they might as well destroy the rest because personally find it unfair that one actor is getting the bulk of the heat while the others are hidden nicely behind "Person A" or "Person B".

@#90 min, honestly, its no use comparing Joon Ji Hoon's situation with people in America, because America is NOT South Korea. In Korea, drug use is illegal, period. Things are way different in the US. Laws are different, attitudes are different, societal norms are different. Talking about Obama's confession of drug use has nothing to do with what's going on in Korea, because the two men are from different countries.

"I don’t understand why JJH confessed to using anything. Did they have pictures of him using, like Kate Moss?"
He confessed and that' all there is to it. His involvement was reported by someone else who was caught, and he admitted to it with full knowledge of what he was doing. Even in the United States, if a person confesses to a crime, they are held to that confession.

" He is innocent until “PROVEN” guilty."
Keep in mind that this is a philosophy that is NOT shared by every country's judiciary system. In some countries, it is just the opposite: guilty until proven innocent. I, personally, don't know how it is in Korea, but you shouldn't assume that they share the same philosophy on Presumption of Innocence that the US does.

"All I know is I don’t really know anything for sure. It’s all being overblown and exaggerated. It’s really sick."
That isn't necesarily true. I agree that no one knows to what extent the media has exaggerated or changed facts, but we also don't know to what extent this hasn't been done. You don't know for a fact that it is being overblown OR exaggerated. Maybe if this happened in the US and this much attention was being paid, it might be [somewhat] more reasonable to call it overblown, simply because it isn't uncommon in the US for anyone to take these drugs [which is a whole other realm of unfortunate] but in Korea, drug use, especially by celebrities (since theyre so much in the public eye) is a HUGE deal.

"And you ignorant people who think ecstasy and ketamine is so bad for you...[h]ow many people’s live are ruined because of alcohol? How many from X or K? Or Heroin, for that matter?"
Plenty of people's lives are "ruined;" depending on your definition of the word. Any drug is bad for your body, because drugs contain chemicals that mess with different hormones in your body. They can cause hyper- or hypo-secretion, depending on the drug, and can be excitatory or inhibitory. Hyper- AND hypo-secretion of any of the hormones in one's body is serious, and can reult in many disorders. No matter what drug a person takes, there is some undesirable effect on the body. Using heroin as an example of a drug that doesn't "ruin" lives is pretty dumb, too (sorry for using dumb, it really just for lack of a better word.) Heroin is an opiate, and is very addictive (so addictive, in fact, that use of it can lead to physical dependance on opiates). It is also recognized as having very high potential for abuse, and has negative effects on many of the body's main organ systems (cardiovascular, respiratory, central nervous system, musculoskeletal, neurological/psychological, etc.)