At this point in the ongoing police investigation on the Kim Hyun Joong domestic violence case, it wouldn’t be newsworthy other than him being such a well known Korean celebrity. The reason it’s not newsworthy stems from victim “A” dropping the charges against her ex-boyfriend Kim Hyun Joong and there are simply too many cases of assault and battery happening within the home setting whether the victim (man or woman) is physically injured by a significant other or family member. With A dropping her charges after receiving the sincere and personal apology from Kim Hyun Joong, what remains is for the police to close out the case. I explained in my last post that even if the victim refuses to press charges or drops the charges, certain situations would still warrant the case to go forward with the prosecutor making the judgment call to indict. A good anecdote would be if a victim is assaulted in a hotel elevator and the whole thing was captured on the hotel’s elevator CCTV camera. Later the victim declines to press charges for whatever reason, the prosecutor can still indict the assailant using the elevator video as evidence of the assault. A crime being committed does not require the victim’s participation to mete out justice, it’s a fact that most cases there are no additional evidence other than the victim’s testimony hence in that situation if the victim doesn’t want to press charges then there is nothing the prosecutor can do.
The police in the Kim Hyun Joong assault case have just announced that they will be forwarding one count to the prosecutor’s office to indict Kim Hyun Joong. Of the four assault charges made by A, Kim Hyun Joong admitted to one count, the one where he claims they fought mutually and she ended up in the hospital with injuries that required two weeks to heal. That is the solo count that the police is forwarding to the prosecutor for indictment. It doesn’t matter whether A has dropped the charges, Kim Hyun Joong’s admission to the physical fight and A’s hospital records from May showing the injury bruises are enough independent evidence to charge him. With this being one count rather than all four which included allegations of continued abuse, and considering Kim Hyun Joong is a first time offender in the eyes of the law, my guess is that he’ll get probation and required to attend anger management classes. Even on this one count he’ll not see jail time and it’s not because he’s a famous or rich person, sadly DV cases still mostly get slaps on the wrist.
For a refresher, above are the pictures taken of A at the hospital when she went in after the May fight showing her bruises. This is the fight that Kim Hyun Joong has admitted took place. I sincerely hope that his fans who want to support him do whatever they want to keep the support but do stop conjuring up completely unsubstantiated assertions such as he’s been framed and apologized just to end this nightmare and he never hurt A. At least the girl walked away with her dignity and safety intact, it’s time fans accept that even the most innocent and nice stars on the surface can have plenty of faults in private that we know nothing about. The lead detective on this case explained clearly to the media that in the case of an alleged crime where the accused has admitted to it and there is independent evidence of the crime (i.e. A’s hospital record in this case), then even if A dropped her charges the police cannot drop it and must refer it to the prosecutor. Yay for cops doing their jobs (for once).
Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have to say I’m glad the police are forwarding this charge to the prosecutor’s office. Even though he will probably receive no jail time, the highly likely mandatory anger management/therapy and probations will serve as some form of punishment and as an opportunity for him to do some self reflection and maybe undergo some improvement. I’ve enjoyed KHJ as an actor as well as on variety (We Got Married was adorable), but that does not excuse what he did. He needs to be held accountable, and his fans (and fans everywhere) should acknowledge that their oppas are not infallible innocent angels; they are people who have tempers and who don’t always know how to control themselves.
Whoa. This gives me hope for other victims who may go forward and press charges. That even being a big important person can’t make evidence disappear. At least someone is saying, “But he really really hit her and we can’t pretend we didn’t SEE her bruises.”
I know I’m not going to make any sense here, but I’m a bit frustrated. Everyone is all up in arms, as they should be, about this. Actually, I’m heartbroken about it. KHJ is a favorite of mine.
I started to watch Blade Man. In the first episode, LDWs character beats the crap out of two of his employees and they end up in the hospital. Then he buys them off and all is honky dory. This is not an unusual scenario in dramas. Moms slap their adult children etc. There is an over abundance of other types of physical altercations in some dramas. When I first started watching them, I wondered if Koreans really do beat the crap out of each other. It sure seems like it. So the question is, in typical Korean family life, is there a degree of what we westerners would consider physical violence? If so, where is the line drawn? Some women would definitely have bruised wrists if the men in their lives grabbed them like some of the drama ‘heroes’.
I know this probably hasn’t made a bit of sense, but I’m hoping that someone understands my confusion and will help in clearing it up.
(I know, I know, dramas aren’t always real life, but there is a bit of truth in there…)
There may be some cultural acceptance of corporal punishment for discipline purposes that Westerners don’t feel comfortable with.
Putting his lover in the hospital with welts and bruises she suffered protecting herself from his uncontrolled fury, is NEVER acceptable. This is clearly abuse and far and away a crime.
I felt the same way when I saw my first drama… Bullying, slapping, graving ect. ect. I was like W T F!!!? Not only by others but their OWN family. I don’t get it either. And than there is the authority part that does absolutely nothing or go to extreme. Your not alone in the confusion 🙁
I don’t want to share some of the stories from my friends’ parents cause I was in such shock and it’s their personal life. But DV from 3 different friends who all grew up here. Their poor mothers. One was a dr so his wife didn’t need to go to the hospital. Anyhow, I’d like to think these were very isolated cases. So I wish these guys would get some help. It’s sad that the punishment won’t be greater.
Where to draw the line? The golden rules for all humanity should be treating others as you want to be treated. If you don’t want to be beaten up and recovered for two weeks, then don’t do it to others.
We all know his fans are still mourning, in denial, and try to make sense this incident.
However, they should be glad he got caught now and serve a light consequences rather than being caught in a more heavy offenses. Good luck!
I’ll try and explain it, it may sound like I’m advocating it, but truly I’m not.
In Oriental culture its OK to smack your children, because you are teaching them to be a better person, or making sure they learn a life lesson by disciplining them etc. It doesn’t matter how old that child is, parents will raise their hands to hit the child if they do something wrong, or if they do something that is not socially acceptable, bring shame on the family, or the child does not do well in school etc.
Spanking your child is a very normal thing for Oriental people.
Parents/adults believe they are doing the right thing by hitting you to ensure that you will never again do the same wrong thing again. (I am and grew up in a Chinese household where, getting smacked for doing the wrong things, not getting something right (e.g. messing up on times-table), it is a normal thing as majority of Oriental parents think that way). They don’t hit you for every little thing, but the possibility and the potential of being hit is always there should you step out of line or do naughty things by their standards, beliefs or principles.
Oriental parents thinks the ROD is mightier than the Carrot! in some ways it is and in other ways it isn’t. I truly believe that depending on the situation, 9 out of 10 times gently explaining to your child what they did wrong and telling them how to go about it the correct way is much better than beating them.
But in saying that, Oriental children have loads of respect for their parents, family and elders,and people in society as a whole, due to being disciplined in this manner (smack), they try hard to do the right things, they will always respect their teachers and never in a class backchat a teacher or be rude etc.
Orientals believe in the social hierarchy of family so the elders of the family have the most influence and what they say or decide is ‘Right’ and is law, no-one can challenge them. If you are the youngest member of the family you have the least authority and must respect and listen to your elders including your Oppa/Hyung or Unni/Noona.
But abusive behaviour, beating your wife, partner or children just because you are drunk, upset or angry is frown upon. But it’s acceptable to discipline your children, smacking a child is OK, beating a child so they end up with bruises and in hospital is not OK in the oriental society.
There are the few that thinks men are more superior to women in the Oriental society, thus beating ones wife is fine in their minds, as this will keep her inline, docile and submissive (very old fashioned and not such great way of thinking,I highly disapprove of this mentality).
Hope that helps, you understand the Oriental society and their stance on this matter.
His fans are too far gone to stop. They still insist there isn’t any evidence at all and it’s all media manipulation. They even go so far as saying the bruises are makeup and she faked the whole thing. I’m not sure how they’ll spin this next chapter, but I’m sure they will. If you want to support your oppa after he screws up, at least admit he screws up and support him anyway. Don’t make the victim he apologized to and said shouldn’t be blamed out to be the bad guy so you can live in delusion.
He won’t get any real punishment, but I’m glad it’s being forwarded to the prosecutor now.
If nothing else comes of this assault, I hope this does help give courage to the women and report it! This police dept. has restore a little faith in justice for women.
Wow so shock to see those photographs really no joke man, obviously he abused her. if he really love to fight why not become a martial art fighter, shame on you to bully women.But women shouldn’t suffer in silence mustn’t give men chance to bully us! must speak up ! let’s fight against home abuse/ violence !
This type of system where police action can rest on whether the victim chooses to press charges or not is deeply problematic. It can’t be difficult for an enterprising hoodlum to “convince” a victim to drop charges in many cases – this one probably being a case in point. I have to say I am happy to live in a country where the decision to investigate and indict rests entirely with the police and state prosecutors.
In any case, I hope this asshole receives some measure of punishment.
Dear Koala,
Long time since play full kiss. I am so busy and do not have much chance to visit your playground everyday, but I am still visiting. Although I don’t write the comments, I enjoy reading your post.
I will never forget that we had such a huge fun in 2010 with your recap of PLAY FULL KISS.
Ohh… I was so shock and didn’t believe when I heard about KHJ. Thanks for posting because I am sure that you will post about it when things were confirmed. I still like KHJ, it will not change because of what he had done. But we all must live in the world that not hurting each other. If he really did hurt her, I hope, he learnt his lesson and will behave better in his future.