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.