Cho Jin-woong / Hankook Ilbo file
A Seoul Nationwide College legislation professor criticized media stories that exposed actor Cho Jin-woong’s previous as a juvenile offender, saying the protection violated the spirit of juvenile justice and unfairly pushed him into retirement.
Han In-sup, professor emeritus at Seoul Nationwide College College of Regulation, wrote on Fb on Sunday that Cho’s resolution to retire “is a really fallacious answer,” arguing that the true topic of criticism ought to be the outlet that dug up decades-old data. “The media that tried to bury an individual alive by unearthing a previous from a long time in the past deserves stern criticism,” he mentioned, referring to leisure outlet Dispatch.
Han emphasised that Cho had already confronted authorized penalties in his youth. “Cho Jin-woong made errors as an adolescent and obtained applicable authorized sanctions,” he mentioned. “Juvenile justice imposes punishment whereas additionally enhancing alternatives for training and reform in order that younger folks don’t proceed down the trail of crime. That is the defining function of the juvenile justice system.”
He added that Cho’s later accomplishments ought to be seen as exemplary. “The truth that the boy didn’t stay trapped in his darkish previous and as a substitute labored for many years to achieve a degree of social recognition is one thing to be praised,” he wrote. “He can function a superb information and position mannequin for younger folks nonetheless wandering at nighttime.”
Han additionally condemned the media’s dealing with of Cho’s previous document. “If somebody, for any purpose — whether or not private, political or sensational — drags out a decades-old historical past to destroy an individual’s present achievements, society ought to direct its criticism not on the entertainer, however on the media,” he mentioned.
Concerning Cho’s sudden retirement announcement, Han expressed remorse. “For Cho Jin-woong to halt all actions in response to such makes an attempt is a really fallacious answer,” he mentioned. “He ought to stand tall and rise to face this.”
Lawyer Kim Jae-ryeon additionally identified earlier this week that the protection violated the aim of the Juvenile Act. Writing on Fb on Friday, she mentioned the legislation is designed “to right the habits of youths with delinquent tendencies and assist them develop into wholesome adults,” including that naming an actor who has since turn into an grownup “runs counter to the aim of the Juvenile Act.”
Cho introduced his retirement on Saturday evening, a day after Dispatch reported allegations about his conduct as an adolescent. “I deeply apologize to everybody who trusted and supported me regardless of my disgraceful previous,” he mentioned via his company, including, “As of immediately, I’ll halt all actions and produce my performing profession to an finish.”
This text from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Instances, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Instances.
