Not Taegoon! I love him! (well loved him because I don't make a habit of loving druggies) =( =(

Random, but isn't Jaejoong close friends with Taegoon?

wow.Jaejoong's best pal Taegoon doing drugssssss?
shame on him if that's true. Jaejoong actually appeared in Taegoon's debut MV w/ Park Shin Hye.

i really hope it's not him.. since i really like him ;(

Jaejoong and Taegoon are friends from the same hometown. I don't think they're best friends or anything like that, simply just friends. Either way, I hope this issue folds without too many flashing lights. Taegoon or not, the person should accept his wrong doing and move on.

:((((((((( it's so unfortunate! i agree javabeans, from a western POV it seems excessive but the ramifications are SO huge. especially the singers, they're in training since they're barely out of nappies, their whole lives they work towards this and it's literally like setting a fuse to it all. personally i wouldn't care what actors were doing behind closed doors as long as it wasn't hurting anyone else. but it's just so sad to see all that potential and talent tank like that. ugggggh, whyyyy.

also: omg ninja netizens!!

Being from the West, the accusation of meth use is bad news in deed. Pot, ok, but meth---bad/sad news......

These incidents always bring out a faction of comments that say, “So what? It’s only pot” and “I can’t believe how ridiculous Korea’s drug laws are.”

These sort of comments really irritate me. Drugs are never a good thing. Coming from a country where everybody uses drugs and the law is so abiding to it - I really hope that Korea never relaxes any of their Drug laws, no matter how much pressure western bigots put on them.

Although surprisingly - I don't see much of those comments here - which makes me happy :) altelast some places on the web are normal...

this is.. sad news. :( taegoon seemed like such a sweet guy, i think he was very active in always keeping in touch with fans and stuff. (or am i confusing him with another newbie-ish solo singer?)

For some reason I saw the picture and screamed- NOOOOO MARCOS!

I wonder if anyone who condemns these celebs for doing pot also condemn people who regularly do another much more deadly, albeit legal, drug....alcohol.

Yes people...pot is prob far safer than alcohol. I am willing to bet alot of people who gasp whenever they hear of people doing drugs has never actually had any interaction with any type of drugs and prob got all their info from PSAs.

I think korean celebs or anyone should be able to smoke as much pot as they are allowed to drink beer. If you want to ban pot, then ban soju as well.

I'm not sure if this Mr. Kim fits Taegoon's sense of style while I try to profile him.

Dang, I knew educators don't have a greatest well paid job in the world but this is simply a sad read being those arubite drug dealers. Find your freakin' high somewhere else! Arrrgh!

though the picture blurred out the face, but it looks nothing like Taegoon to me! LOL..the long hair (?) who have long hair?! HAHAHA...

But anyways, it's normal to hear these things to me...there will be things we will NEVER know about a celeb life unless we are one ourself!

I used to be involved in the entertainment industry and I live in Hollywood. The drug use here is rampant and accepted among celebrities. While this is no excuse in any country, to believe that it doesn't happen is ignorant. (I still have a hard time convincing my friends how bad it is.)

I think what makes me irritated is that someone was deported for similar offenses and only ended up doing the same thing in Korea. He should be punished to the fullest extent.

I'm actually surprised not more celebs are found out. Some of the hours and schedules are enough to make me want a constant IV drip of caffeine. Two of them!

Starscreamer... he (and the others) also took crystal meth, and you can hardly call that harmless.
If you're curious as to what it's doing to people's faces (and bodies), google Amy Winehouse.

Without reading the points, I had immediately assumed it was Kim Kibum from Suju. I'm quite relieved it isn't!

Being an Australian, I don't know who Taegoon is (I'm not fully emersed in Hallyu yet!) however, one of my favourite AFL players was just caught having drugs on him and I'm sure it's the same situation. Well known celebrity, has alot going for him, etc. You have to wonder what is going through their heads when they do this sort of thing.

"I won't get caught". Yeah right, why take that chance?

So many people look up to them and yet they throw away the admiration, respect and love for a jaunt on the wild side.

It's VERY disappointing.

Taegoon?! The picture with the blurred face looks nothing like Taegoon, though...

I agree though. Technically, I'm pretty sure pot is safer than, well, alcohol. But overall, drugs are just bad to do in general. I mean, like, high school (or even junior high) health class, please?

it's definitely not jaejoong because the Korean police couldn't possibly have questioned him since he's been in Japan for a long time filming his drama. taegoon seems possible but the description could fit anyone actually. half the entertainment industry are "Kims" and a good portion are 24 year-olds.

it's sad how rampant drug use is. in my country, we just let these kind of issue pass. it's good the korean police is anal about this stuff.

@17

google what big macs and budweiser do to people's faces and other parts. should we ban those as well?

@Starscream Regardless of whether you think pot isn't that harmful, it's still illegal.. And if it's the law, they should be punished for it, not let off easily because they're celebrities.

@24

Im not saying we should let them off because they're celebrities, I'm saying we should let them off because they're stupid laws.

yes, some laws can be stupid.

it used to be a law that a white person cannot marry a black person.

it used to be law that you can only use a bathroom of your race.

it used to be law that alcohol was illegal.

etc etc...laws just reflect societal mores of a certain period. while most laws are necessary and sensible, not all are.

@25 Well yes, laws were stupid and there are some laws that are idiotic or questionable today. But marijuana IS harmful, even if it's less harmful than alcohol, and while the Jim Crow laws harmed others, not letting people smoke pot won't. Personally, I've been exposed to so much pot use that it doesn't really bother me, but I still think Korea enforcing the law strictly is a good thing, not a bad thing.

@21 They should be banned, by all rights, along with sleeping pills, Cola and chocolate, while we're at it. :P And don't forget all those TV shows that make people into brain-dead zombies!

eww... meth, really? that shit ages you like crazy... soooo gross.

While the Korean police has not come out officially with the persons allegedly involved ,stars or not , don't you think it is harmful to point out persons and profiling them ? What if they were not the ones involved ,then their reputation had been damaged already even by insinuations . I think media must be careful on these matters .

I hope this news won't shatter my heart into a million pieces like in Joo Ji Hoon's case.

In my country, drug dealers are hung so I think Korea's laws are lenient as it is. Druggies just get rehab.

eh, i think the big deal about pot is that is leads to other things. either way, law is law and they stars who use drugs are fully aware of them. thus, they should also be aware of the consequences for them when they get caught.

taegoon or not, we'll probably find out soon enough. after all, it wont be long before 'mr. kim' will be pulled out of projects and whatnot.

What if its Kim Hyun Joong?!!! :(

@32 Don't think so, he never debuted as a solo singer did he?

my first thought was Kim Hyun Joong actually... he's kind of crazy and i think would like to try new things.. i don't really blame him. i don't blame joo ji hoon either..

taegoon would be putting too much on the line bc he just debuted.. and when you just debut, you are really too busy to be doing this other stuff and getting involved in these circles. and as a dancer and as built as he is, you kind of can't do this stuff or it'll mess with your system

defenitely not kim hyunjoong. NO WAY its him. No way.

idk about this taegoon, well its sad if it really him :(

Is the celeb 24 by western years or by Korean years?

Why can't the police either not reveal any information on the celeb or just tell everyone who it is already? I really hate this whole speculation game because it tarnishes the names of people the netizens suspect but are not guilty.

this is making me miss joo ji hoon badly. i hope the media wont be so harsh on them

Hahahaha.. this is so weiiird.. the first person popped into my head was indeed Kim Hyun Joong...

I mean, well.. give or take he's 24, and his solo debut .. err.. perhaps the one when he contributed in BOF soundtrack? And the long hair.. and yeah.. he's recently asked for a part in Athena? And before that 'fcourse we all know that infamous non-expressive ahjussi's character of Lei version in F4 Korea..

just my two cents though..

I agree that you can't put Western POV on what Korean laws are. From where I come from, the possession of drug is punishable by hanging. Which is worse?

And I do agree that these stars, unless they are Western-trained, know very well what the penalty of Korean drug law is...and they must think twice before risking it all. Same goes for sex scandals. I think that is also sad as well. Whatever it is, anything that would harm their career, break their dreams, even if it's for a little while, is just wrong to themselves. See what happened to SUJU's Kangin? Couldn't even really face the fans till now (exception of the fanmeet) because of his assault and DUI case.

No, don't risk whatever you have worked hard for for just a momentary pleasure.

But I also don't think netizens (super investigators they are. they should all join the force!) should start throwing names. If Taegoon is not guilty, that poor boy would face the brunt of all insults and such for nothing!

Kim Hyun Joong doesn't have a personal minihompy.

@39 read #41 comment and also FYI it hasnt been decided he take Athena drama or not. It because of his contract with his agency issue. and athena will start filming LATER this year =P and its not considered as solo debut, really.

You know when people say "So what? it's just pot!" All I want to do is throw them into the bottom of the river (What? I've been itching for some Yakuza movies for a while now. Maybe some delinquent stuff too... The good Yakuza kind like "My Boss, My Hero" and "Tiger and Dragon" starring Nagase Tomoya, or "Crows Zero" I and II, or Gokusen)... Come on people, pot still kills people, despite what others may say. And yes, I also think it's not the smartest thing (read: dumb) to apply western thinking to other societies/cultures when it comes to such matter as drugs, etc.

@21 Interesting, this. I wonder what your reaction would've been if that star in question would've stuffed his face on burgers until he was too fat to walk.
Would you still see him has a victim of a dangerous substance, or would you laugh into his face because of his own stupidity... er, freedom of choice he made? I mean, everyone knows that too many burgers =getting fat, and getting fat = no good for your singing/acting career. It was dangerous, he still did it, so everyone pity him because society is just like that. Too bad they don't like fat people being stars.

You know, having fun is all fine, but there are consequences for everything you do. Whether they are legal, or paid with your health and carreer, depends on what you're doing and where, but it's a fact that you are not an independent individual in a free space, you are part of the system. :)

And on that, I'm going to toast with some coffee. Cheers!

Kim Hyun Joong did not debut as a solo singer last year,
nor does he have an upcoming movie or a minihompy.
He had fansign meeting for the past 3 days.
Kim Jae Joong has not debut as a solo singer nor own a minihompy.
Kim Tae Goon's last post on his a minihompy is like yesterday.
So none of the above...

@the one who commented about laws reflecting the times

True, a lot of laws were the product of their respective times and were the offspring of the ignorance of people then, but that's where the differences end. The reason we ban drugs is because of the immediacy of it's effects and how easy it is for people to OD on such a small amount of it. We don't ban alcohol and burgers and unhealthy food outright because it takes an indecent amount of it, over a long period of time in most cases, to actually do damage.

Take this analogy in consideration: it takes only a few grams of a drug over the critical dosage to kill a person in one night, whereas it would at least take days for a person to die if he's been excessively binge-ing on burgers and soda. There is a reason why these laws exist - to say that these drug laws are stupid would be equivalent to spitting on the collective human intellect.

If the reaction is anything close to the last scandal, a potential star's light is going to blink out pretty quick.

Not a fan of a the pot, but even worse - meth? Really? Sadly it made my first thought, "Nooooo, we like people to have their teeth!"

All laws aside, a person could techincally still be on the edge of finishing development (if not done already I'll admit) that drugs could erode. So it boggles my mind, especially when the laws are as they are in S. Korea.

Man Taegoon, you really screwed up with this. Should've gotten a spice jar and coffee beans bud.

It really sucks, he had so much going for him. Marijuana ruined his life.

If he goes into hiding, he should come to British Columbia. He'd find inner peace here :D

I wonder though, how in the world did the investigators find out how many times he smoked, without questioning (I'm assuming)?

Where does it say he used meth? I only remember reading that he purchased both meth and marijuana, the latter which he consumed a total of 18 times. Please correct me if I have my information wrong or if I'm missing something?

Should've gone to cigs Taegoon.

@animedork
I will give you my most prized posession if you can come up with even single case of a death caused by marijuana.

Overdose on marijuana? Possible. Consume your body weight in marijuana in...3 minutes was it? Maybe 5.

Gateway drug? It's a terminus.

@49 - if that Mr Kim (whoever he is) didn't consume it, then he would have either thrown it away, stacked it at home to look at, or given/bought it for someone else to consume....

I think what you read there is what the police revealed after they questioned these guys. Unless, of course, they have 18 documented cases of him purchasing ans moking the stuff - candid camera, anyone? ;)

A good way to find out who the person is: have the blurred picture above on your computer screen then stand pretty far back from your pc and the blurred face should make itself clearer.
I've done this and it doesn't look like Kim Kibum (woo!) but I don't know all of the popstars in Korea.

Can anyone else give it a go and see if they can figure out who the picture is of?