I feel good for him now. I think that's certainly a fair sentence. Jail is suppose to rehabilitate people anyway. If in the year probation he remains clean (will he be tested randomly while on probation?) then he probably won't repeat his mistake. He didn't even often use it.

But he's not going unpunished. And that's good. I love the fact that unlike America, his lawyer didn't even try to use the "it was a foolish young adult mistake" or "the environment and pressure at the time was just too much" and all that crap celebrity lawyers try. Even if he's an actor, he shouldn' t get special treatment (whether good or bad). I think it was fair this time around.

For the others... well, they get what they deserved as traffickers and financers. These roles for me are infinitely worse.

I'm not a crazy fan girl but I was refreshing this all day to see how it turned out. I'm glad that it ended up this way, it's a good thing. I'll miss him while he's in MS, I really wanted to see his acting improve but hopefully after a couple of years he can make a come back.

I feel really good for JJH now, too. I think this is a far better outcome than most people were expecting. It sounds like he's had an outpouring of support from all over the world, which is wonderful. I hope it continues throughout the probation period as well.

Anyone else think his punishment was a bit too light, compared to his partners in crime? One gets half a year, and the other receives three?

*correction: punishment was a bit too "light"

I definitely feel JJH deserves a much lighter sentence than someone caught trafficking, financing, and/or distributing drugs. There's a big difference (in my opinion) between using drugs in a club while under the influence of alcohol and being either a smuggler or dealer. I'm surprised those sentences were as light as they were.

So does this mean he can resume his acting activities immediately or does he have to wait until he finishes his probation?
Will he go to MS?

Ahh i feel better. But still!!

@Leah:

I think he would have to do jail first, but I'm sure that he can resume acting while doing community work.

But, I'm sure it would be better for him to wait til he's done with community service and probation to come back to acting.

His crime was only using it 2 times, so it's pretty light compared to what others have committed (the ones that went to travel to Japan and back to Korea - not only did he/she break Korea's law, but Japan's as well.), therefore I think it's only fair that his punishment is appropriate. I think the outcome was handled well, and hopefully this incident will be a good warning/example for other entertainers to think twice before doing drugs.

agree that the sentence seems fair enough. JJH's crime was just the drug use, not smuggling/selling. yoon and yeh were smuggling/selling drugs, they deserve more jail time.

just wondering... if an ordinary individual admitted to using drugs but didn't have the multitude of fans who would file petitions, would he/she get the same relatively light sentence? (relative to korean laws, that is. please, no screaming that in the US, you don't put users in jail. this did not happen in the US, US rules don't apply).

it just doesn't seem right that part of the explanation for the sentence should include fan petitions. it gives the idea that non celebrities would have a little less chance for a lighter sentence. saying that he wasn't a habitual user and showed remorse by not fighting the charges is enough explanation i think.

are they still investigating others? i remember one account that they were investigating 80+ more people -

trafficking sentence does seem light for a country that takes drug use very seriously.

all these light sentences - point to plea deals in exchange for snitching -
the much larger crime when you're doing so to save your own ass

I agree.. Yoon got off way too light..

@Cee: The other two were smuggling drugs into the country and distributing, while jjh admitted to only taking the drugs two times.

Im glad really, he was honest about his wrongdoings, admitted his crime and he's not a drug addict so why should he go to prison? Not to mention the other people that took drugs pretty much got off yet he was left to take all the blame.

Stay strong JJH.

@13 lei -

"just wondering… if an ordinary individual admitted to using drugs but didn’t have the multitude of fans who would file petitions, would he/she get the same relatively light sentence? (relative to korean laws, that is).

That's pretty hard to say one way or another. Even if you have fairly similar cases with disparate sentences, you can pretty much always find and point to one difference or another that would indicate reasons for variance in treatment. And the judge in cases like these has a lot of discretion with respect sentencing from a statutory perspective. In cynical academic legal terms, we call this "gastronomic jurisprudence," or in layman's terms, "what the judge ate that day determines what sentence you get."

However, given the amount of publicity and media attention, I would suspect that the judge did a lot of preview checking to see what all the ramifications would be, one way or another. So, I'm guessing JJH and the other sentences are probably unremarkable.

Still, all three sentences could have been a lot worse. All three sentences are pretty far on the "light" side of sentencing. Could fan petitions have helped? Who could say for sure...

i think JJH should have been given a much heavier sentence. the judge was not objective in making the sentence in that he gave in to petition of the fans. i am pretty sure a non-celebrity would have been given the maximum sentence for the same crime. well, at least he got what's coming to him. i've read a lot of articles in the past (before his arrest) saying that his head has become too big because of the success of his dramas and movies. well, i guess a MORE SUPERIOR BEING thought that he deserved to be pulled down a peg or two. i hope after this that he'll have his feet planted firmly on the ground .......

I admire his acting skills so much that it really came as a surprise that he did drugs! I hope this serves as a lesson for him

WHAT?! i wasnt mad that his sentencing was light because i thought the jury would have a legit explaination not because the fan petition against it. im mad at the fan too just because he is a hot actor doesnt mean he get to be forgiven right away. some people are innocent and still in jail for something they didnt do i dont see them holding signs and writing petitions for those innocent people. grrr make me so mad! people who use their fame to excape their wrong doing

i hope we never see him on screen period!

He's a user, in my eyes he's a victim, unless he also encourage others to use drugs - that we will never know. Anyway, i think he learned his lesson. I some countries, users usually just fined and place in a drug rehabilitation clinic. But abusers like Robert Downey, Jr. goes in and out of jail and rehab clinics, but look at him now. People tend to forgive and forget sinners specially when we see them really regretting their sins and do something to make him/her a better person.

I agree with Javabeans the traffickers should have gotten a much heavier sentence than 3 years.

JJH, be an advocate of people against drug abuse and your Fans will love you more for it =).

I think it's a good sentencing. With such a light punishement, I can now picture him acting again, maybe not in a very near future, but still, it seems like the judge didn't want to obliterate his future too much.I'm not a particular fan of him, but it's nice to see that he still has his life ahead of him. Now I don't know if the Korean society is ready to accept him again, time will tell.

JJH has regretted his actions and he has been punished hough it's a light sentence but enough to ruin his career since then. Being a judge....isn't easy but I believe he has taken all factors in consideration for a young man committed an offence....wise and fair judgement and sentence.....JJH should be forgiven not because he is an actor.....even an ordinary person!!! should be given a second chance!
JJH should have learnt a fruitful lesson and he will head off again for a brighter and successful life ahead.....his talent in acting and many more.........
Hooray to his fans around the world that have supported JJH since the drug scandal......their hardwork pay off....................
JJH.....remember what you have promised....never to do it again.....hope to see you real soon.......!!!!!! :)

i sdaness for u JJH
cho

considering korea's law, this is a fair sentencing for JJH. As for the other two, they were probably given not so severe sentencing because they were cooperating with the police.

and for those "mad" about the judge putting into consideration of "fans" supporting him...and maybe that's why he got off easy... if this were to happen to normal average people, i highly doubt they would get the maximum jail sentence either. the only reason why JJH even got convicted and fine was BECAUSE he was a celebrity and an example had to be made of him.

I bet if the police raid a night club in korea they will at least find a dozen or so drug users there, but do they do it? no.

I've got a question. Is Joo Ji Hoon like a drug addict or something?
Does he like suffer from drug withdrawal symptoms when he doesn't get his usual fix of drugs?? You know, like he starts to shiver and go crazy or something like that. Just curious.....

@ewin

u may be right....maybe for ordinary people....they might not even be sentenced...JJH being a celebrity...needs to set an example for public!

@R

JJH is not a drug addict...he only consumed twice last year and never do it again.....thus he shouldn't have any so called drug withdrawal symptoms. Didn't you get the fact right??

i know he used drugs and from what ive read i guess its a pretty big crime in s.korea, and i guess you can say it is also here in the states, but i think he got too much for just having consumed drugs 2 times.
i know sooo many people that are far worse then him and nothing ever happens to them...i guess i am just saying this cause i am a fan but having consumed drugs twice doesnt seem like such a big thing when you compare it to someone that really is an addict
its kind of weird for me to see people say he has a drug problem, i mean does he really have one when he only used the drugs twice and it was like last year?
i highly think that counts as a drug problem
i guess this is just me babbling cause i really like JJH

I feel relieve..He won't be in jail for quite long time..
Still, i hope he learns from his mistake..No more drugs please JJH ssi..

This is much better than what they were thinking of before, though 6 months still sucks, it's better than the others like you said.

JJH won't be in jail, he gets to suspend his six months of hard time while he is on probation for a year; if he remains clean (of any crime, not just drugs), the offence is essentially cleared and he doesn’t have to serve his initial sentence as mentioned in the above article.

Did I get it right???

I very bothered by the judge mentioning of the fans' petitions having sth to do with his judgment even though the sentence is justifiably reasonable.

hi just wondering, so does this mean, that lee chunhee is that unidentified certain someone?

I agree w/ JB, the traffickers got of light.....
anyhoo, I believe JJH learned his lesson the hard way. I'm happy w/ the judge's decision.

#
37 mookie - Jun 23, 2009 at 12:07 am

I very bothered by the judge mentioning of the fans’ petitions having sth to do with his judgment
----------------------------

^agreed with mookie. I dont think it's fair.

OMG!!!! Omo! Omo! Omo! ^-^ ^-^ ^-^

I feel just like what i felt when i finally saw the ending of A Man's Story....sad, relief, and glee all at the same time!!!

and i am definitely listening to JAVAB's chosen 8eight's song, Freedom!!!!!

THANKS JAVA-B FOR THIS UPDATE!!!!!

and thank goodness, his picture doesnt look bad either, compare to the last pic JavaB posted.....^-^

^-^ *clapping my hands, grinning*

I dont know what's ahead for him.... but am crossing my fingers! He has a lot to gain back....

Whatever other says ( light sentence, fans petition, etcetera), I'm pretty happy with the result.

Their judiciary system has spoken. Any criticism, opinions, violent reactions will simply be just that!

Thanks javabeans for your quick update.

^-^ ^-^ ^-^ wweeeee!!!!!

Well now I know that no matter how severe the crime is of a celebrity ,all you need are fans sending petitions to put pressure on the judge indorder to lighten the sentencing.

That is such bullcr*p! Soon we'll be having celebrities who think they can get away with any crimes as long that they have a huge fanbase sending in mercy petitions.

Poor regular korean citizens who've also committed the same crimes yet get heavier sentences cause they aren't celebs.

Wow... both Yeh and Yoon got their sentences pretty light, considering both of them involved in drug trafficking... on the last news on dramabeans, they were going to face 5 years, (am i right, kinda lazy to backtrack :P). and i thought 5 years is so light, i expected somewhat heavier than 5, and now they only get 3 and 2.5 each??
Best of luck for JJH, i hope the public will give him a second chance after this is over...

I hope JJH learns from this. And hopefully his acting days are not over for good. I did enjoy his acting in The Devil and Naked Kitchen.

As for Yeh and Yoon, I think their sentences seem light for drug traffickers - I think that term is justifiable for smuggling drugs across international border. In some countries, they would have been caned and probably given the death sentence. I guess their cooperation with the authorities probably helped them with the lighter sentence.

JB, u r d best 4 giving us d latest updates of any kind of news! After reviewing other blogs.....realised tt u r quick to provide update on latest news and most importantly...a more reliable and accurate source of new. :)

@ lydi

Well now I know that no matter how severe the crime is of a celebrity ,all you need are fans sending petitions to put pressure on the judge indorder to lighten the sentencing.

----------------------------------------------------

I agree. The judge has made a mockery of the korean justice system by giving in to fan pressure and petitions. JJH should at least serve some jail time, even if it's only 3 weeks.Even Paris Hilton had to spend a few weeks behind bars for her DUI offense and Hong Kong star Nicholas Tse also could not escape jail time for breaking the law. JJH must be celebrating and thanking his lucky stars for his very light sentencing.

Whatever it is, JJH still has a criminal record for the rest of his life. One look at him hanging his head in shame should tell the story. Never take drugs if you're a public figure and your livelihood depends on you maintaining your clean image.

[ Soon we’ll be having celebrities who think they can get away with any crimes as long that they have a huge fanbase sending in mercy petitions.]

^@#44 I totally agree! At first I really felt bad for Joo Ji Hoon but after reading the verdict and knowing that the mercy petitions played as one of the factors why he got a lighter sentence, made me feel infuriated!

I was all for giving JJH a second chance but not like that! It makes me mad that actors like him just get extra perks for being famous. All my previous wish for him to succeed has now vanished. I hope he wont be able to get back to acting for years to come, so that at least he'll somewhat get some punishment, since the korean justice system were to lenient on him and the other 2 celebs YEH and Yoon.

[ Soon we’ll be having celebrities who think they can get away with any crimes as long that they have a huge fanbase sending in mercy petitions.]

^@#44 I totally agree! At first I really felt bad for Joo Ji Hoon but after reading the verdict and knowing that the mercy petitions played as one of the factors why he got a lighter sentence, made me feel infuriated!

I was all for giving JJH a second chance but not like that! It makes me mad that actors like him just get extra perks for being famous. All my previous wish for him to succeed has now vanished. I hope he would not be able to get back to acting for years to come, so that at least he'll somewhat get some punishment, since the korean justice system were to lenient on him and the other 2 celebs YEH and Yoon.