Premature return of troublemakers

Tough competition motivates broadcasters to recycle ‘discarded’ stars

By Park Si-soo

People are bound to make mistakes. Then they are given an opportunity to make an apology for a fresh start.

The rule is no exception for celebrities. Numerous singers, performers and TV presenters here have faced forced or self-imposed exile after causing trouble, and some of them have found themselves reinstated, following a probation period, with just an apology.

In the past, the “exile” lasted for at least years, during which affected stars kept a low profile and attempted a comeback in an extremely cautious manner. An apology was sincere and even tearful.

Now, however, one year is considered long enough. Exiled entertainers jump back onto the stage following a casual, tearless apology and act as if nothing happened.

What changed the situation and who are to blame?

Perhaps the biggest problem is the absence of guidelines to lift bans on the use of such celebrities at broadcasters. Tough competition puts increasing pressure on TV stations to find a breakthrough and against this backdrop they feel tempted to make a toxic decision of recycling “discarded” stars.

More worrisome is that such a decision gradually makes children and young adults, the two biggest TV program consumer groups, lenient toward troublemaking celebrities, facilitating their bid to make an early comeback.

Comedian Kim Hyun-dong, whose stage name is Kim Gu-ra, is the latest beneficiary from the trend. The country’s second largest broadcaster MBC said Monday it had decided to lift a year-long embargo on the 43-year-old to get him to appear regularly in the comedy talk show Radio Star from later this month.

Kim was yanked off the TV screen in April last year amid an avalanche of criticism over his past ill-considered remarks on those who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II under the euphemistic name “comfort women.”

His remarks invited a massive public backlash and dealt another blow to the surviving victims. Nevertheless Kim made his comeback just six months later through a cable channel program, and then appeared on the country’s biggest TV station KBS and third largest SBS in April and May, respectively.

Confirming him being fully reinstated by the three major broadcasters, Kim said Tuesday he will make his fans happy with more “straightforward and scathing” remarks.

2PM’s Nichkhun

Baby-faced singer Nichkhun Buck Horvejkul of Korean boy band 2PM is another star resurrected. The 24-year-old Thai-American was indicted in August for being behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol and ramming into a motorcycle in July. The motorcycle rider survived with big injuries. Following the accident, Nichkhun reportedly dashed to a nearby convenience store and gulped down two cans of drink to chase a hangover.

The singer was tested at the scene and found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.056 percent, one that could lead to the suspension of his driver’s license. Nichkhun was fined 4 million won ($3,600).

Human injury-causing drunk driving is considered a big crime by all accounts. Nonetheless, only three months were enough for him to resume his work. In early October he left for Tanzania with a camera crew to film his philanthropic work in the poverty-stricken African country.

“We are aware that it’s a premature return,” his management agency JYJ said in a statement released ahead of his departure. “But the shooting was scheduled before the accident so we have to go with it or violate a contract.”

Nichkhun heralded his full-fledged return last month by appearing on a popular TV talk show, during which he made a brief apology for the accident. His band, 2PM, is preparing to host concerts in Seoul later this month.

Park Si-hoo

Park Si-hoo is also a big name star looking for a chance to get back into the limelight — though it’s widely considered premature.

The 35-year-old actor was accused in February of raping an aspiring actress after having a late-night drink session on Feb. 14. Park has claimed his innocence, saying they had sex with mutual consent. What actually happened that night is still mysterious because the prosecution dropped the case early last month at the request of the victim.

Rumors have it that Park offered handsome compensation to the victim to drop the case, while the actor’s management agency denies it, saying the peaceful settlement was a result of reconciliation of the two sides.

The agency said he will stay idle throughout this year and there is no plan for his comeback in the making. But industry observers claim signs of his early return already loom larger. One of the signs, they point out, is the release of his debut film “I’m the Murderer” in Japan on June 1.

“We released the movie as scheduled since the rape case was settled peacefully,” said a distributor. “Luckily enough, the scandal has hardly damaged his Japanese fan base.”

Observers say his early comeback hinges on the film’s performance in Japan.

“The bigger the audience the film draws, the earlier his comeback will be,” said Cho Min-joon, a culture critic. “If the film is a hit in Japan, Park might resume working in Japan and then make his way to Korea.”

Citing his own statistics, Cho said entertainers stopped working for up to two years after causing an incident in the past but the length has been substantially reduced in recent years.

He said those caught for physical assault or evading military duty tend to experience the longest absence. The period is reduced to around one year for those who deceived the public with forged diplomas. Those who stirred controversy with illegal gambling were found to have made a full-fledged comeback after only a six-month exile, while three months is enough for drunken-driving entertainers.

Traditional wrestling “ssireum” player-turned-emcee Kang Ho-dong resumed working in November only one year after he was embroiled in a tax evasion scandal.

Permanent deportation

All in all, the rule of return works, he said, but not for everyone.

Singer Yoo Seung-jun still has no opportunity to return after ten years. The 37-year-old was kicked out of the domestic music scene in 2002 amid allegations that he had acquired U.S. citizenship to evade military duty. Prior to the event, he had repeatedly stated on TV that he would fulfill the duty.

“I was naive back then. I thought people would forgive me,” Yoo said in a 2007 interview in China where he works as a singer.

Actor Lee Kyung-young, who was convicted of buying sex from a teenage girl in 2001, has attempted a comeback several times but failed. Singer Ko Young-wook is another candidate for permanent exile. He was sentenced to five years in jail in April for raping and sexually assaulting minors.