S. KOREAN CELEBRITIES IN TROUBLE OVER DRUGS

The police, vowing to clean up the world of show business, have targeted 30
singers and actors

SEOUL - South Korean television actress Sung Hyung Ah is among 30 stars,
singers and models who are being targeted by law-enforcement officials who
see drug abuse as a scourge of the local entertainment world.

The use of ecstasy, dubbed 'club drug', is especially prevalent among
Korean entertainers, the officials said.

'Dope is prevalent in local show business, with some Korean-American
entertainers playing a central role,' said Mr Chung Sun Tae, the chief of
the anti-narcotics department at the Seoul District Prosecutor's Office.

'We are at war with those drug users.'

Television actress Sung Hyung-ah has become the latest target of the
crackdown, following another actress, Hwang Su Jeong, singer Psy, and Kim
Koo, a member of a dancing group, the Korea Times reported.

Late last year, actress Hwang Su Jung, and singer Park Jae Sang, were also
arrested for taking drugs and banned indefinitely by a major television
station.

Hwang, 31, was arrested with her boyfriend for taking methamphetamines, a
stimulant known commonly as ice, at her apartment.

Park, 24, was arrested for smoking marijuana, a habit he picked up while
studying music in the United States.

Based on tip-offs, the prosecutors are also focusing on an additional 30
television stars, singers and models and plan to summon three or four of
them this weekend.

The authorities are especially concerned about the drug-abuse problem which
has plagued the entertainment scene as they fear it will have a negative
impact on teenagers, many of whom blindly follow the behaviour of their idols.

Mr Chung said the phenomenon reminds him of the link between hippie culture
and marijuana.

'Although we can't block junkies from pursuing careers in the entertainment
world, we will crack down on any illegal activity,' he vowed.

In fact, ecstasy is fast becoming one of the most popular drugs among some
Korean youths, who take these pills, which cost 100,000 won (S$150) apiece,
at 'hallucination parties' at techno dance clubs.

South Korea's war against drugs has gathered momentum recently from a
cutting-edge weapon.

The Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office developed a method of detecting
narcotics from hair samples early this year.

'Unlike drugs that are injected or inhaled, ecstasy is hard to detect, as
the pill-type drug has high density and is excreted very fast,' said Mr Chung.

'The new method enables us to detect drugs which are not revealed by the
conventional urine test.'

The authorities claim that the hair test can even detect drugs that were
taken a few years ago, as compared to the urine test which can only trace
drugs taken several days ago.

Some stars suspected of taking drugs have voluntarily given police several
strands of their own hair to prove their innocence.

High-Profile Targets

TELEVISION actress Sung Hyung Ah has become the latest target of the
anti-drug crackdown.

Late last year, actress Hwang Su Jung was arrested with her boyfriend for
taking methamphetamines, a stimulant known commonly as ice, at her apartment.

Based on tip-offs, the prosecutors are also focusing on an additional 30
television stars, singers and models and plan to summon three or four of
them this weekend.