Pubdate: Sun, 14 May 2000 Source: Star (Malaysia) Copyright: 2000 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. Contact: 13 Jalan 13/6, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia Website: http://www.thestar.com.my Author: Choe Yong-Shik, The Korea Herald NEW SCANDAL LEADS TO CALLS FOR ENTERTAINMENT REFORM SEOUL: In the wake of a recent series of sex and drug scandals involving some of the nation's most admired entertainers, civic groups and show business watchers have begun calling for a sweeping reform of the entertainment and broadcasting industries. In the most recent incident, four current and former members of the hiphop group Uptown were arrested or put on the wanted list on charges of violating drug laws. A member of the hiphop duo Drunken Tiger was also sought by police for questioning on suspicions he smoked a narcotic substance known as philopon. Last December, popular comedian Shin Dong-yop was arrested on charges of smoking marijuana, a crime for which he was fined 20 million won in February. Veteran TV actor Park Se-jun, 40, was also arrested on May 2 at a hotel in Kangwon Province while doing philopon. Meanwhile, the long-standing rumour of female celebrities taking part in high-priced prostitution was apparently confirmed in an investigative report on television last week. Members of an entertainers' association strongly protested that the story was not based on concrete evidence and failed to prove that a single celebrity was actually involved in any such activities, but the report only strengthened the public's suspicions. According to the media research and polling agency AC Nielsen, the latest instalment of the news show drew three times its normal audience. Kim Kwang-jin, who leads the singers' division of the Korean Entertainers Association, released a statement of apology on May 3 in connection with its members' involvement in drug abuse cases. Leaders of trade unions for singers, actors and comedians held a press conference yesterday to voice their stance on the sex scandal and vowed to make every effort to regain the public's respect. However, top actresses, including Lee Seung-yon, who were asked to attend the meeting did not show up. Citizens' groups and scholars have gone so far as to call on broadcasters to impose a complete ban on entertainers who are implicated in any wrongdoing. "Almost all sectors of society have undergone restructuring, shedding ill practices and adopting more transparent management, and the entertainment and broadcasting industry should not be exempt from this process,'' said Park Woong-jin, researcher at the state-run Korean Broadcasting Institute. According to entertainment watchers, celebrities typically face public shame and suspension from TV programmes if found to be involved in scandals or convicted of crimes, but only for a limited period of time. Park characterised the practice of reinstating these offending stars to legitimacy as an "official media pardon'' and attributed it to broadcasters' heavy reliance on a select group of stars. "Major TV stations tend to sacrifice principle and ignore the past irregularities of celebrities in their blind pursuit of high ratings,'' Park said, adding that the Korean broadcasting industry should abandon the current star system and place an emphasis on the moral integrity of entertainers in addition to their talent. He also warned that the illicit practices of certain entertainers might have far-reaching consequences by sending the wrong message to young people, major followers of the stars. "If TV stations allow unethical figures to appear on their programmes, it will only serve to numb the moral sense not only of teenagers, but of society as a whole," said Kim Eun-kyung, member of the Seoul YWCA media monitoring group. "It's not just an accepted stereotype concerning the profession. There is simply too much at stake if we allow this kind of behaviour to continue,'' she added. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D