Former BTOB member Ilhoon sentenced to 2 years in prison

[goshipgurl.livejournal.com]

Former BTOB member Jung Il-hoon has been sentenced to prison.

On the 10th, during trial held at 2pm, Chief Judge Cheol-han of the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Il-hoon to 2 years in prison for habitually smoking marijuana. The court also judged that Il-hoon was a flight risk and arrested him in court.

Il-hoon is accused of conspiring with 7 people from July 2016-January 2019 and remitting 133 million won of marijuana to the unnamed person 161 times. He's also accused of buying marijuana and liquid hemp and smoking 161 times within the same period.

Prosecutors had initially demanded 4 years in prison and a fine of 133 million won.

In his final statement, Il-hoon appealed for leniency stating, "I was under extreme stress while working in the entertainment industry at a young age. I tried to solve this in the wrong way and have vowed not to depend on it ever again."

sources: dailynaver, Sports Kyunghyang

Comments

[nefertitii.livejournal.com]

2 years for smoking pot. insanity.

[nefertitii.livejournal.com]

a flight risk and arrested at court over pot 🙄

[goshipgurl.livejournal.com]

And none for Seungri, YG, Kim Hyunjoong and all the other trashy men in the industry

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

crazy when you htink BI was/is facing similar charges but will probably get out with a fine
Whether we agree or not with the sentence/crime etc.

[greasetastic-x.livejournal.com]

A reminder that whether you agree with how weed is judged in Korea or not, that doesn't change the fact that it is illegal there and what he did is a crime there. That being said, at the very least treat everyone equally if that is the case

And yes it's outrageous that sex crimes there get less time, but that means that those people should be punished more heavily.

When/if Korea ever becomes more lenient with its marijuana laws, I hope it's sooner rather than later.

[chikage-chan.livejournal.com]

While it is true that it is a crime in Korea and it is not wrong to punish it as so based on the way things are there now, it doesn’t mean that it is fair or that it shouldn’t be questioned, imo. Other kinds of actions have been unfairly criminalized before, such as adultery, and it only got overturned because people’s mindset changed, domestically and internationally, and they fought for this change in society.
I just believe calling bullshit on this is not completely unwarranted 🤷‍♀️

[shinychopstick.livejournal.com]

I think after I got over my initial anger and disappointment when the news broke out, I've just been feeling sad about the whole thing. As someone his age who also has come to rely on CBD/THC for sleep/anxiety, I have to imagine what it'd feel like to derail your whole decade-long career and lose everything you've built up. If I was in his position where it was illegal, would I make the same judgment? Probably not. But I believe his reasoning of stress since he was always one of the more front-facing members promoting BTOB with regular schedules emceeing Idol Radio, Weekly Idol for a while, writing songs for and interacting with other artists and producers on a regular basis and not really having any known issues/complaints against his general attitude or professionalism. The Ilhoon that most people have come to know and like is also the same one using almost the whole time.

I also read somewhere that he may need to re-do his military service entirely so that's another 2 years to the 1 he'd already completed. I'm bitter thinking about heinous crimes that receive lesser sentences. Also as a point of comparison, Changsub uses alcohol in similar ways to cope and yet was invited on 2 different shows celebrating drinks/drinking culture.

I wonder how Joo must be feeling, as well. I know they were close and he always stuck up for her when she was undergoing career challenges. She recently got married before he went into military service and the members were at her wedding. I hope her in-laws aren't giving her shit for this although I wouldn't be surprised.

[pepsi-twist9.livejournal.com]

I don't live in Korea/never been, but reading, and watching about the alcohol culture is absolutely wild to me. Health wise it's so much worse. Obviously people will argue about health benefits of light alcohol but that's clearly not the case

[rosiemotleymind.livejournal.com]

I understand it’s illegal but I will never get over how criminalized weed is in Korea and in the US. I’m still waiting for Illinois to free or drop petty charges.

It’s still astounding that you literally can do sexual crimes against women and admit it and still get less time than weed charges. Make it make sense.

[myungung.livejournal.com]

there's a lot of history and culture behind the hard stance on drugs, and the fact is also that it is illegal and part of the law. but what I'm surprised is that his judgement was so fast and the double standards for him vs other celebrities. I guess the backing and corruption really helps

[katheli.livejournal.com]

this, all I could think of was if he was with YG no way would they have booked him. Just remember all the shit Bigbang got away with scot free.

[violoncelliste.livejournal.com]

lmao i don't care that weed is a crime in korea, it's a stupid law and dude shouldn't have to go to jail for it.

[baekpedaling.livejournal.com]

Mte

[goldenrosalie.livejournal.com]

is it prison-prison or prison-but-actually-suspended-sentence? based on "flight risk" i assume actual prison but has it actually ever happened before? i can't remember a single case because everyone got off with parole or run away to army.
i'm legit shocked because iron was out there doing drugs, selling them, abusing his ex, abusing minors... i don't even know what he did Not do while already being on parole after being caught with drugs for the first time. he never went to jail.

[bloodtaki2.livejournal.com]

I know it's illegal and there is history for why drugs are so hardly repressed and frowned upon, but still, two years seems a lot. And yeah, I agree with others about the blatant double standards with other "artists"

[phililen3.livejournal.com]

Damn

[soyunatetera.livejournal.com]

What injustice
They have ruined his and his family life with this
And I don't care about the argument that it is illegal there and that it is their culture, with the celebration of its alcoholic culture and the work culture that leads a large percentage of its population to live with stress, having such harsh laws for drug use is hypocritical and unfair.
And what about other similar cases that only received a fine?
hypocrites

[mil-lay.livejournal.com]

this is tragic tbvh drug culture is p common world over nowadays esp when it comes to weed.. and in particular if you're in entertainment and or the arts.. i wonder who had it out for him to get caught?

[em-cavey.livejournal.com]

I feel for him and his family and I obviously don’t believe that what he did makes him genuinely immoral by any stretch. But he has lived his entire life in a society where what he did is highly illegal, it has been for as long as this society has existed in its current form, and it has imperfect but decent reasons for being so. Unless he has a debilitating chemical addiction, which is unlikely if he was just smoking pot, he made his own decisions of his own accord apparently hundreds of times over. He had to have known what the consequences would be. I feel sad for him, but I also don’t know what else he could have expected.

[zui-circus.livejournal.com]

So sad he ended up like this, he was my favorite in BtoB

[shukriyya.livejournal.com]

Same here. Ilhoon 😢 I hope there is a way for him to get back to making music later on if that is what he wants - he is so talented!

[zhyvae.livejournal.com]

Uff. Echoing what people have said above re: the drug laws vs the drinking culture, but still... the double standard considering much worse crimes really is something

[honeebs.livejournal.com]

Ridiculously.
Damn shame.
Yup there laws their issues criminal system.

Damn Shame.

[scheisse.livejournal.com]

Jesus fucking Christ... It sounds like they trailed him for years, waiting and letting each charge rack up so they could then hit him as hard as possible. All for smoking pot. This is not justice, it is corruption. The government is aware of how many idols commit suicide due to depression or anxiety, so they need to get with the times and understand how much marijuana can help people cope with mental illnesses. I'm disgusted, he doesn't deserve this.

[neoreulwonhae.livejournal.com]

Backwards. Ridiculous.

[dongsaengkiller.livejournal.com]

Fucking ridiculous. And when you consider the paltry and even suspended sentences we’ve seen over the past few years for crimes against women it makes this even more rage-inducing. Justice system my ass

[klauses.livejournal.com]

what an idiot, hope it was worth it

[lulufairybubble.livejournal.com]

He was self medicating. Weed helps with a variety of emotional and mental struggles. I think for him to do something very illegal he most likely was desperate.
It's a damn sahme that SK wouldve rathered he drank himself to oblivion instead, or just be associated with wealthier and/or more well connected people who could pay them off.

[violoncelliste.livejournal.com]

we're not all from the us 😭 weed is illegal where i'm from too, i still don't think anyone buying it should be going to prison?
not to mention afaik in the us people going to jail for weed are/were mostly black (maybe just: of colour) and it's not actually about weed at all, but about prisons being free labor camps. "the law is the law, even if it sounds like a ridiculous one" is a phenomenally bad take

[aures.livejournal.com]

rather than jail time, maybe he needs help? i can not imagine he's not an addict so i feel like guidance and help would be better

[queenmedea.livejournal.com]

Great. So South Korea would rather punish and lock up someone for drugs, when they are clearly not a danger to themselves or others, but can't be bothered to actually imprison the countless number of men who take advantage of and abuse women?

Cool. Good to know.

If the government wanted to send a message to half their population that they care less about them than they do about drug use, then congratulations! They succeeded. Who cares about abusers when the legal system can waste everyone's time and money going after someone who spent their own money on a product that would hurt no one but them (and that's generously assuming weed is hurtful and bad which... research suggests otherwise).

Yes, I understand he broke the law. But fine the h*ll out of him. Make him do monthly drug tests and community service. What use is putting him in prions?

[babyjenkski.livejournal.com]

When I first heard of this, I was really disappointed and mad at Ilhoon. Still, I hope he'll be ok, gets the help he needs and recovers.

BTOB is one of my ultimate favorite groups. Been a fan since debut. It frustrates me and made me really sad. For sure he struggled and I'm sorry he had to experience that while trying to reach his dreams. I also am curious if his use of drugs ever created any issue with his members. Was he ever disrespectful? Did he cause his members any harm? I really hope not.

And I'm not going to lie that I'm a bit bitter that some other kids got away with it. But I'm letting it go.

[chikage-chan.livejournal.com]

Unfair and enraging, tbh, and I’m not even a fan or a weed smoker.