The whole k-drama industry is unfortunately on increasingly on shaky grounds as long cyberwreckers can take down…
An important sociopolitical question has emerged in the face of actor Cho Jin-woong's announcement of retirement after reports of crimes committed when he was a minor came to public light: Until when should a person be held liable for their juvenile wrongdoings?
“Most of those kids are now living good lives after weathering the storm of adolescence,” he continued. “If we judge them today by their pasts, we’re saying they don’t even deserve to breathe freely. Their situations and environments were different. But if someone has accepted the consequences of their actions and is living with remorse, shouldn’t we be encouraging them?”
Seoul National University law professor emeritus Han In-sup also expressed support for Cho on his own Facebook page. “Cho Jin-woong made mistakes in his youth and received the appropriate legal consequences,” he wrote. “But announcing a complete halt to all activities in response to attempts at public shaming is not the right solution.”
Han emphasized the importance of rehabilitation in juvenile justice. “The juvenile system punishes, but it also aims to educate and redirect — that’s why we use the word ‘school’ instead of ‘juvenile detention center.’”
“It’s commendable that someone with a troubled past has, through decades of effort, earned social recognition,” Han added. “That makes Cho a valuable role model for teens who are still lost in the dark. There’s no need for him to walk around carrying the weight of his past forever.”
Han also criticized the role of the media in the controversy. “If someone dredges up decades-old history for personal, political or sensational reasons in order to destroy someone’s current achievements, it’s not the celebrity who deserves public condemnation — it’s the media responsible for such an attack,” he wrote.
The Korean media is finally asking this question: “How long and to what extent should someone be held accountable for mistakes made in their youth?”
Actor Kim Jisoo lost his career over alleged bullying at the age of 13-14, Go Min Si is under the same threat (accusations concerning events during middle school). The list is longer.
Unforgiveness from the society affects everyone who feel they have failed in their lives, not just the celebrity. Lee Sun Kyun's suicide caused an uptick in male suicides.
The whole k-drama industry is unfortunately on increasingly on shaky grounds as long cyberwreckers can take down any production, any actor, any time. Just a simple truth.
I'm not defending the actor but contemplating whether something done in high school or middle school is according to all Koreans a reason to shut down an actors' career. This particular case is also a legal issue just as the other cyberwrecking cases currently under investigation (meaning Garosero & Kim Se-ui's destruction of KSH's career).
A lawyer filed a complaint on Sunday against two reporters of the domestic media outlet Dispatch who first broke the story on Cho Jin-woong’s past as a juvenile offender.
Kim Kyung-ho, a lawyer at Hoin Law, wrote on his social media that he had filed a complaint against the pair on suspicion of violating the Juvenile Act.
“These reporters tore open a sealed court ruling from 30 years ago and put it on display to the world,” wrote Kim. “This is a clear act of violence disguised as journalism.”
Kim further argued in his social media post that “society has made the difficult decision to give Cho a chance to start over, and this is the intention behind the enactment of the Juvenile Act," asking, “Is uncovering the mistakes of a high school student from 30 years ago truly pursuing the public’s right to be informed?”
“Article 70 of the Juvenile Act strictly prohibits relevant authorities from responding to inquiries regarding juvenile cases,” Kim went on. “This is because the law recognizes that the leak of records itself can be a weapon that can end a person's public life.”
“If the reporters obtained this information through a public official or insider, it is not reporting, but a criminal act that illegally breached the protected barrier of justice,” the lawyer argued.
Kim further claimed that the reporting on Cho’s past was “an act of commercial voyeurism that mocks the rule of law,” arguing that “our society’s correctional system will collapse if the act of forcibly opening the doors closed by law is tolerated.”
I have said and will say: only a nation of adult children needs actor's to be role models. Acting is a profession. Morality clauses in contracts are bringing down South Korean actors in an accelerated pace. Accusations need not be true or proven as true for the actor to loose all of his work, earnings and career. Sometimes lives are lost, as in the Lee Sun Kyun case. Media profits from scandals and controversies. The situation where the k-drama industry is completely at the mercy of gossip media is financially untenable as investments are becoming too risky. Maybe from the MDL staff writers POV this a good thing. The more dead actors, the more clicks.
I'm not defending Jo Jin Woong's crimes but pointing out the macroeconomics behind all this.
In my opinion, the family involved is trying by all means to elicit sympathy by presenting what I believe to be…
I saw it, you're great! Their exact brand of craziness has a lot to do with fear of life. This particular story seems to allow them to imagine themselves in an activist role and hence they desperately cling to it and want it to be true.
In my opinion, the family involved is trying by all means to elicit sympathy by presenting what I believe to be…
The difference between KSR's first idol BF, the one with the tattoos (including cloud) and KSH is that the first agreed to pay the family. Hence he's safe from the family and Garo0. Successful blackmail happens all the time. In future, when we've witnessed KSH's fate, no one will ever dare not to agree to pay again. Gaseosa might be jailed but his business model is secured and will thrive nevertheless. Only my speculation of course. But when one agrees to pay for time spent with the daughter and the other doesn't, what does that make the family and the daughter.
Kids who refuse to think and do not know much of this world are all over MDL "news" section again. Staff writers' know exactly what they are doing inviting the morons who still don't even know about Garosero's lawsuits and MO to repeat everything they said in March. What happens to people who have acquired that much bad karma, I don't know.
You're more obsessed with him than his fans.😂👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽broknshtt
Kind of understandable why she identifies with KSR and Gaseosa: all 3 dishonest to their core. We saw how KSR denied her drunk driving in a message to friends when she had already been convicted by court. And the real Noam Chomsky, an Epstein associate, turned out to be a big bluff at least as far as ethics are concerned.
THE ONE WHO REFUSED: KIM SOO-HYUN'S HONOR VERSUS GAROSERO'S SECRET LEDGERDearest Gentle Readers,Every industry…
The pay-for-silence game will continue as long as there is the morality clause in actors' contracts with advertisers. Anyone can accuse actors of school bullying or other crimes. Accusers get to keep their anonomity, whereas actors private lives are considered everybody's business. The unhinged yearning and acceptance of peeping to dig up gossip is on he long run is detrimental not only to actors' but also to every compassionate fan's mental health.
The alleged wrongdoing doesn't have to be true or proven for actors to loose the earnings from their work and in most cases, their entire careers.
I really hope that the South Korean public starts to understand the immorality of having actors straightjacketed via demands of moral superiority. I really hope our hero atty Kho reveals everything that has been going on in terms of blackmail. Everyone who knows about Tsuyang's blackmail case has already understood cyberwreckers and Gaseosa's modus operandi.
Gaseosa is special in that he has dirt also on politicians who therefore protect him, and on police and prosecutors who take bribes to not do the work they should be doing or to twist the narrative (as in the Lee Sun Kyun case). That's just my hunch of course. But what I see is that as the unfair treatment of actors continues the previously mostly favorable image of k-drama industry is collapsing. Korean media refuses to address this very real issue but then again honesty in journalism has by and large long since vanished.
Watching Walking on Thin Ice puts this show in much better context. In that show, where FL is 54 and the non-romantic…
who is weird? Lee Jung Jae is a respected veteran actor who is often consulted in casting choices for a reason. But k-bullies have no respect for great actors or acting. You watch your romcoms and shup up.
Considering that there has been virtually no progress in the complaints filed by Kim Soo-hyun against Kim Se-ui…
When Kim Se-Ui says he owns the Gangnam police, that now seems like a true statement. So Gaseosa not only has dirt on politicians who protect him but also the Gangnam police who seem to have (again) taken bribes.
Support actor no matter how heinous crime they commitMDL should support bullies , rapists,even murders if they…
When people come out with the accusations 10-20 years after the incident, the accused becomes the victim. It's not even possible to prove innocence after such a long time. And even if actors are able to prove innocence, the cancelling has already taken the career and the stigma will remain.
Support actor no matter how heinous crime they commitMDL should support bullies , rapists,even murders if they…
Isn't it funny how all the bullies who get caught in SK are actors? Not teachers, not the plebs. If you need actors to be role models, you're just an adult child. When all that is done in SK about bullying and the resulting suicides is to cancel actors, that is very effectively just moral posturing.
Motivated by greed and the conviction that they will face no punishment.Let’s take a look at what happened today.On…
What became implicitly clear from the hearing: Kim Se-Ui has close ties with some politicians and knows too much (=has dirt on them). Which is the reason he's being protected. Corruption in SK police and prosecution is a lasting theme in k-dramas (which may or may not reflect reality). I'm just speculating of course but this is my hunch.
Dating is a private life issue, hence none of our business. Unless you want to be a paparazzi hanging out outside someone's bedroom window. Which is stalking and not something normal people would do. We want to protect actors and allow them live normal lives without paparazzis presence.
Why would having a love life be a scandal?
There must be thousands of user-contributed articles waiting for publication and these sewage products are what we get. Staff writers out, editorials back.
Why did they go so far as to fabricate "evidence" and invent something that never even happened?They claimed…
It's Kim Soo Hyun who is defending the deceased's honor, since he refuses to reveal anything about her love life prior to the time they dated (briefly and not seriously). Eventually it will come to light who KSR's first boyfriend was and what the deal was with the family as they didn't file a court case on him (the first boyfriend) at that point. I suspect things with the family are darker and more serious than the less experienced people care to think. I also think Kim Soo Hyun has decided to protect the whole industry even if it hurts him personally. I'm just speculating of course but this is my hunch.
“Most of those kids are now living good lives after weathering the storm of adolescence,” he continued. “If we judge them today by their pasts, we’re saying they don’t even deserve to breathe freely. Their situations and environments were different. But if someone has accepted the consequences of their actions and is living with remorse, shouldn’t we be encouraging them?”
Seoul National University law professor emeritus Han In-sup also expressed support for Cho on his own Facebook page. “Cho Jin-woong made mistakes in his youth and received the appropriate legal consequences,” he wrote. “But announcing a complete halt to all activities in response to attempts at public shaming is not the right solution.”
Han emphasized the importance of rehabilitation in juvenile justice. “The juvenile system punishes, but it also aims to educate and redirect — that’s why we use the word ‘school’ instead of ‘juvenile detention center.’”
“It’s commendable that someone with a troubled past has, through decades of effort, earned social recognition,” Han added. “That makes Cho a valuable role model for teens who are still lost in the dark. There’s no need for him to walk around carrying the weight of his past forever.”
Han also criticized the role of the media in the controversy. “If someone dredges up decades-old history for personal, political or sensational reasons in order to destroy someone’s current achievements, it’s not the celebrity who deserves public condemnation — it’s the media responsible for such an attack,” he wrote.
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-12-07/national/socialAffairs/Actor-Cho-Jinwoongs-retirement-sparks-debate-on-juvenile-accountability/2471571
The Korean media is finally asking this question: “How long and to what extent should someone be held accountable for mistakes made in their youth?”
Actor Kim Jisoo lost his career over alleged bullying at the age of 13-14, Go Min Si is under the same threat (accusations concerning events during middle school). The list is longer.
Unforgiveness from the society affects everyone who feel they have failed in their lives, not just the celebrity. Lee Sun Kyun's suicide caused an uptick in male suicides.
I'm not defending the actor but contemplating whether something done in high school or middle school is according to all Koreans a reason to shut down an actors' career. This particular case is also a legal issue just as the other cyberwrecking cases currently under investigation (meaning Garosero & Kim Se-ui's destruction of KSH's career).
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-12-08/entertainment/television/Lawyer-files-complaint-against-reporters-who-broke-story-of-actor-Cho-Jinwoongs-juvenile-record/2472159
A lawyer filed a complaint on Sunday against two reporters of the domestic media outlet Dispatch who first broke the story on Cho Jin-woong’s past as a juvenile offender.
Kim Kyung-ho, a lawyer at Hoin Law, wrote on his social media that he had filed a complaint against the pair on suspicion of violating the Juvenile Act.
“These reporters tore open a sealed court ruling from 30 years ago and put it on display to the world,” wrote Kim. “This is a clear act of violence disguised as journalism.”
Kim further argued in his social media post that “society has made the difficult decision to give Cho a chance to start over, and this is the intention behind the enactment of the Juvenile Act," asking, “Is uncovering the mistakes of a high school student from 30 years ago truly pursuing the public’s right to be informed?”
“Article 70 of the Juvenile Act strictly prohibits relevant authorities from responding to inquiries regarding juvenile cases,” Kim went on. “This is because the law recognizes that the leak of records itself can be a weapon that can end a person's public life.”
“If the reporters obtained this information through a public official or insider, it is not reporting, but a criminal act that illegally breached the protected barrier of justice,” the lawyer argued.
Kim further claimed that the reporting on Cho’s past was “an act of commercial voyeurism that mocks the rule of law,” arguing that “our society’s correctional system will collapse if the act of forcibly opening the doors closed by law is tolerated.”
I have said and will say: only a nation of adult children needs actor's to be role models. Acting is a profession. Morality clauses in contracts are bringing down South Korean actors in an accelerated pace. Accusations need not be true or proven as true for the actor to loose all of his work, earnings and career. Sometimes lives are lost, as in the Lee Sun Kyun case. Media profits from scandals and controversies. The situation where the k-drama industry is completely at the mercy of gossip media is financially untenable as investments are becoming too risky. Maybe from the MDL staff writers POV this a good thing. The more dead actors, the more clicks.
I'm not defending Jo Jin Woong's crimes but pointing out the macroeconomics behind all this.
Kids who refuse to think and do not know much of this world are all over MDL "news" section again. Staff writers' know exactly what they are doing inviting the morons who still don't even know about Garosero's lawsuits and MO to repeat everything they said in March. What happens to people who have acquired that much bad karma, I don't know.
The alleged wrongdoing doesn't have to be true or proven for actors to loose the earnings from their work and in most cases, their entire careers.
I really hope that the South Korean public starts to understand the immorality of having actors straightjacketed via demands of moral superiority. I really hope our hero atty Kho reveals everything that has been going on in terms of blackmail. Everyone who knows about Tsuyang's blackmail case has already understood cyberwreckers and Gaseosa's modus operandi.
Gaseosa is special in that he has dirt also on politicians who therefore protect him, and on police and prosecutors who take bribes to not do the work they should be doing or to twist the narrative (as in the Lee Sun Kyun case). That's just my hunch of course. But what I see is that as the unfair treatment of actors continues the previously mostly favorable image of k-drama industry is collapsing. Korean media refuses to address this very real issue but then again honesty in journalism has by and large long since vanished.
Citing Koreaboo. Of all gossip rags it's the most dishonest. I guess that's where she works too.
I want MDL to support actors. We want to discuss dramas. Staff writers out, editorials back.
Why would having a love life be a scandal?
There must be thousands of user-contributed articles waiting for publication and these sewage products are what we get. Staff writers out, editorials back.