'Drug Offender' Yoo Ah-in Returns.. It's So Easy to Be a Male Celebrity in Korea [Lee Seung-hoon's Obstacle]

*This content was translated by AI.

Is there any entertainment industry as lenient toward drug offenders as this one?

Actor Yoo Ah-in (real name Eom Hong-sik) habitually administered medical propofol, midazolam, ketamine, remifentanil, and other substances on 181 occasions between September 2020 and March 2022 under the guise of sleep anesthesia for cosmetic procedures. From May 2021 to August 2023, he illegally obtained sleeping pills through prescription fraud using another person's identity on 44 separate occasions.

This did not end there. In January 2023, he was accused of smoking marijuana with acquaintances including artist Choi (a university graduate in fine arts) and stylist and hair YouTuber Kim at an outdoor swimming pool at a Los Angeles, California residence. While previously praised as a "conscientious actor" for delivering sharp criticisms against societal injustices more fiercely than anyone else, Yoo Ah-in was actually deeply entangled with four or more types of narcotics behind the scenes. Ultimately, he admitted to all these allegations.

As a result, in September 2024, during the first-instance sentencing trial, Yoo Ah-in was sentenced to one year in prison and placed under judicial detention at Seoul Detention Center. Later, appearing in court with a shaved head, wearing blue prison garb, and handcuffed while facing reporters and some fans, his shabby appearance caused significant shock. However, his time in prison garb was not long. Yoo Ah-in received a reduced sentence of one year in prison with two years of probation in the second trial and was released just five months after being incarcerated. In July last year, the Supreme Court finalized this ruling. Despite repeatedly habitually using drugs, he ultimately managed to shed the worst label of "actual imprisonment."

However, the Supreme Court's suspended sentence does not mean innocence at all. It is an explicit "guilty verdict" with a prison term clearly stated and remains as a permanent criminal record. Nevertheless, Yoo Ah-in's recent actions and those of the South Korean entertainment industry are thoroughly trampling public common sense.

The return scenario for "criminal" Yoo Ah-in has already begun. He is being mentioned as the lead in director Jang Jae-hyun's new occult film "Vampire," following his work on "Priests," "Sabaha," and "Exhuma," which elevated him to the ranks of "million-director." Although the distributor hastily drew a line by stating, "There is nothing confirmed regarding Yoo Ah-in's casting in 'Vampire' or plans for a second-half production start," those familiar with the entertainment industry know this statement as mere eye-washing. The industry has already accepted his casting as a fait accompli and is preparing for his return.

This is not all that is infuriating. Rumors have spread widely that Yoo Ah-in, whose exclusive contract with his long-time agency UAA has ended, is discussing a move to Galaxy Corporation, G-Dragon's agency under BIGBANG, after receiving an offer of a massive exclusive contract worth at least 5 billion won.

For an ordinary office worker, committing a drug-related crime would immediately lead to dismissal and make even re-employment impossible. Yet here we have a celebrity who earns their living from public love and attention, having committed the serious offense of habitual drug use, now attempting a glamorous return in a blockbuster film while securing a contract worth billions of won. At this point, it appears less like remorseful self-reflection for wrongdoing and more like a bizarre financial strategy where one takes a short vacation and returns with an increased market value.

The peak of moral hazard was clearly revealed in his recent activities captured recently. Yoo Ah-in attended the VIP screening of director Na Hong-jin's film "Hope" alongside director Jang Jae-hyun without any hesitation.

VIP screenings are formal events and festivals where numerous media reporters, key figures in the film industry, and countless members of the public gather. Currently, after the Supreme Court ruling, Yoo Ah-in should be bowing his head to the public and engaging in sincere self-reflection. However, he appeared openly at the screening venue, embracing acquaintances in the film industry, smiling brightly, and appearing happy.

Even if invited by the film company or a director with personal connections, it would be the minimum courtesy and common sense for him to politely decline on his own. Why show his face there when public criticism against him is still vividly alive? This arrogance shows he has no regard for public opinion whatsoever and appears as nothing more than a deceptive act to demonstrate that he remains a welcomed VVIP in this industry.

In fact, the South Korean entertainment industry's particular leniency toward male celebrities' crimes and controversies is not a new phenomenon. The Yoo Ah-in case is merely the tip of an iceberg in this long-simmering system.

From past to present, countless male actors who committed illegal acts such as drug use, drunk driving while intoxicated, messy private lives, Me Too controversies, sexual harassment and assault, and massive tax evasion have undergone brief, fake periods of self-reflection and are now actively appearing on screens and television.

Compared to female celebrities who face witch hunts and are expelled from the broadcasting industry for years over minor slip-ups or attitude controversies, the standards applied to male celebrities are infinitely loose and lenient. Whenever they return after committing crimes, they only repeat parrot-like excuses: "We apologize for causing concern" and "We will repay with more mature acting skills." Who exactly demanded that criminals repay through their acting? Acting ability cannot serve as a pardon.

Even more lamentable is the behavior of production companies, distributors, management agencies, and others in the industry who try to embrace these controversial actors in any way possible. They send love calls to those with criminal records as if the South Korean film industry could not function without them. There are no shortages of talented new actors or fresh faces with excellent acting skills in Chungmu-ro and broadcasting circles. Audition rooms overflow with gem-like unknown actors who shed tears because they cannot even get a chance.

Yet, the sole reason for taking on risks to make controversial criminals the face of hundreds-of-billion-won productions is simply this: there is no effort to discover new faces nor the courage to bear the risk of box office failure. This shallow and lazy capital logic, relying solely on name recognition and past glory to safely earn money, instills in criminals the confidence that "they can cause trouble and return quickly."

The public is no longer fools. The entertainment industry, which should severely condemn crimes, instead provides light cotton-club punishments and rapid-return scenarios. The public watches this farce with eagle eyes.

Yoo Ah-in, who cleverly evaded the legal net to avoid actual imprisonment and laughed and joked with a million-director during his supposed period of self-reflection. And the South Korean entertainment industry, desperate to willingly give him the stage. This distorted reality is precisely why ridicule pours out that "South Korea is such an easy place to be a male celebrity."

Yoo Ah-in's concept of standing against the world has ultimately been proven to be nothing more than extreme double standards—lenient only toward himself. While he may act like a million-actor in front of cameras, the naked reality of deceiving the public is no different from a third-rate drama.

Yoo Ah-in and the industry must remember this. The arrogant delusion of "repaying with good works" must now be abandoned. What the public wants to see is not the chilling acting skills of a drug offender but his eternal disappearance from screens, proportional to the weight of the crimes he committed. There are no audiences anywhere in South Korea willing to open their wallets and applaud this cowardly return play where a 5-billion-won lifeline was forcibly handed to a criminal with a record.

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*This content was translated by AI.