Ho Dong Kang, famous celebrity and host of many hit programs such as “Two Days and One Night,”, recently went through an extreme change overnight from one of the most beloved television personalities to a greedy pig. A former wrestler who has won numerous renowned titles, Kang started his TV career soon after his retirement from the sports and quickly became a popular host of programs such as “Two Days and One Night” and “Golden Fishery-Knee Drop Guru.” For his wit, overwhelming charisma and exemplary leadership skills, Kang was respected by many viewers. Thus, the public’s disappointment was immense when the media reported that Kang has been under investigation by the National Tax Service (NTS) for tax evasion and has been fined hundreds of millions of Korean Won.

Although Kang immediately released a public apology and admitted to all of the accusations, fans turned their backs on Kang and the public uproar against him became uncontrollable. Even his promises to faithfully pay the amount that has been fined and carry out his duties could not improve the public’s opinion of him. Kang was in deadlock. Facing his biggest career crisis, Kang announced that he will be temporarily retiring from showbiz. Considering Kang’s personality, many believe that he intends a permanent retirement and just like that, within a week we lost one of the most talented hosts in the Korean entertainment industry.

One important thing we need to notice in this tax scandal is that Kang did not make any excuses throughout. From the beginning, he quickly acknowledged his fault and took all criticism with a modest attitude. In fact, the tax accountants he hired, not Kang, were responsible for the crime. Yet, exaggerated rumors about Kang spread fast and personal attacks, so called “witch hunting,” pushed him to the edge, leaving him with no choice but to retire. And all these incidents happened even before any official announcements were made by the NTS.

Finally, when the NTS released their investigation results, people were shocked once again, but for a different reason. The NTS concluded that Kang’s tax evasion was not intentional, but rather a simple mistake made by Kang’s tax accountant. Accordingly, no lawsuits will be charged against him. So, if the public had been a little bit more patient, we wouldn’t have lost such a talented television host so easily and quickly.

We often see the careers of many celebrities get ruined overnight, mainly due to controversies they have caused. However, it seems that the public has much more severe moral standards for celebrities and entertainers than they do for government officials or politicians. Although it is a fact that celebrities earn a large fortune by selling their public images, Korean society seems to expect them to uphold unreasonably high moral expectations. A public figure has a responsibility to serve as an example to others. However, should celebrities or entertainers be seen as public figures who need to carry out these duties? Numerous cases similar to Kang’s tax scandal exist. Celebrities are hardly forgiven by the public for their mistakes and are usually ostracized from society, whereas politicians and government officials are reelected with their past errors and wrongdoings forgotten so easily despite their insufficient excuses. We need to think about whether it is appropriate to expect such high moral levels from celebrities and to judge them according to standards stricter than those with which we judge politicians and government officials, who have positions that do actually require such high morality and integrity. Are we throwing stones at the right people?