If Korea doesn’t work, target overseas fans! The shameless formula for a comeback… Could Jung Joon Young be the next in line for release in March?
Park Yoo Chun, involved in a drug scandal and owing 400 million in taxes, Kim Jung Hoon, embroiled in a drunk driving and pregnancy controversy, and Choi Jong-hoon, a former member of the band FT Island and part of the ‘Jung Joon Young chatroom’ involved in the Burning Sun scandal, are following a similar pattern of a shameless comeback.
Stars who find it difficult to make a comeback in Korea due to various controversies are squeezing out the last of their recognition by targeting overseas fans as a way to make an indirect return. Most have blatantly reversed their own retirement announcements made during the time of the controversies.
Park Yoo Chun is the most notable figure among them.
Despite controversies over drug use and tax evasion, Park Yoo Chun has caused controversy by holding high-priced fan meetings for overseas fans and opened a personal SNS account. The establishment of Park Yoo Chun’s new account has sparked speculation about a serious attempt to return to Korea, but his first post was a recent photo with his brother Park Yoo-hwan in Japan.
On the 16th, Park Yoo-hwan requested his followers to follow Park Yoo Chun’s account, saying, “Hello everyone! Mr. Park (Park Yoo Chun) has created his account.” The Park brothers are showing brotherly affection in front of a shrine in Japan.
Previously, on the 9th, Park Yoo Chun held a fan meeting ‘Re.birth’ in Tokyo to commemorate his 20th debut anniversary, which sparked controversy. The price of the fan meeting and dinner show reached up to 460,000 won, causing controversy over its high price.
Furthermore, last year, Park Yoo Chun was scorned for being listed as a habitual high-amount tax defaulter with 400 million won in tax arrears by the National Tax Service. Since then, without any statement, he has been focusing on making money overseas by announcing fan meetings.
In 2019, when Park Yoo Chun was charged with drug use, he made a public declaration saying, “I have never used drugs. If it turns out I did, I will retire from the entertainment industry,” but the drug use was proven, and he was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a two-year suspended sentence.
Kim Jung Hoon of the male duo group UN was booked by the police on suspicion of refusing a breathalyzer test after crashing into another vehicle while changing lanes on the Southern Bypass in Ilwon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, around 3:30 AM on December 28 last year. The driver of the other vehicle sustained minor injuries, and Kim Jung Hoon was also charged with causing injury under the Special Act on the Settlement of Traffic Accidents.
Kim Jung Hoon had previously been booked for drunk driving in 2011, resulting in the cancellation of his license. At that time, he apologized, saying, “No matter how many times, a hundred, a thousand times I think about it, it was my fault. It will never happen again.” In 2019, he was also embroiled in personal controversies related to his girlfriend’s pregnancy.
Unable to make a comeback in Korea, Kim Jung Hoon held a fan meeting in Japan without addressing the drunk driving issue. He indirectly confessed his feelings in front of Japanese fans, saying, “On my birthday, my mother gave me seaweed soup and said, ‘Be more careful in the future.’ I’m reflecting on what I did wrong since so many people support me.”
Choi Jong-hoon, also a member of the ‘Jung Joon-young chatroom’, has recently made moves for a comeback in Japan after his release, becoming a topic of discussion. Last month, he greeted his fans for the first time in about 5 years through the Japanese fan community site FANICON, saying,
“I’ve gained strength from each and every one of your messages, allowing me to show you a healthy appearance. I’m truly thankful. I want to show you everything I want to do and my private life.”
Choi Jong-hoon was sentenced to two years and six months in prison in 2016 for collectively sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman and illegally filming it with members of the so-called ‘Jung Joon-young chatroom’, including Jung Joon-young, and was released upon completion of his sentence in November 2021.
Seungri was also caught at an event in Cambodia, causing controversy. Even after his release in February last year, stories of him at clubs and luxury birthday parties have kept him in the spotlight, and he has been criticized for showing off and mentioning Big Bang’s G-Dragon overseas.
Seungri shouted, “Someday, I will bring G-Dragon here,” and the crowd responded with excited cheers of “Oh G-Dragon!” When ‘GOOD BOY’ by GD&Taeyang played, Seungri danced energetically to the rhythm.
Previously, Seungri was identified as a key figure in the 2019 Burning Sun scandal and was tried for nine charges, including mediation of prostitution, prostitution, violation of the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes, habitual gambling, violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, violation of the Food Sanitation Act, embezzlement, and violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes.
In May 2022, the Supreme Court confirmed Seungri’s guilt, sentencing him to 1 year and 6 months in prison. Serving his sentence as a soldier, Seungri was transferred to a civilian prison after the sentence was confirmed and was released in February last year.
Who will be the next entertainer to follow this indirect comeback strategy? Attention is focused on whether Jung Joon Young, known to be released in March, will be the next.
Jung Joon Young was tried for charges of collectively sexually assaulting intoxicated women and distributing illegal recordings. In 2020, the Supreme Court sentenced Jung Joon Young to 5 years in prison, with his release scheduled for March.
