Recently, the topic “Joo Ji-hoon is in his second heyday” has become a heated debate among movie and drama fans not only in Korea but also in other Asian countries. Following the success of the medical series “The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call”, which is dominating No.1 on Netflix Worldwide Rankings, Joo Ji-hoon also received lots of compliments for his excellent acting.
Shocking Drug Scandal Arose Right After “Goong” Success
As Joo Ji-hoon has been promoting 3 projects in a row within the past 3 months, many believe that he is about to return to his heyday once again. Amid the actor’s rising popularity, some look back on his past and bring up his drug scandal 16 years ago for discussion. Among numerous praises for Joo Ji-hoon’s acting and performances, there are still a few comments mentioning his past controversy, such as “Why do we need to support a drugger?”, “How can an actor who did drugs continue acting?”, etc., questioning if Joo Ji-hoon should be forgiven.
Born in 1982, Joo Ji-hoon made his debut at the same time as Gong Yoo, Lee Min-ho, Lee Dong-wook, etc. Despite his start as a model, the rookie actor Joo Ji-hoon created a buzz all over Asia with his debut role as Prince Lee Shin in “Goong” (2006). While the public had high expectations for Joo Ji-hoon’s acting potential, the actor shocked everyone with an unexpected drug scandal in 2009.
In April 2009, Joo Ji-hoon was booked by the police together with 15 suspects and an actress on suspicions of using and storing drugs. Although the drug test came out with a negative result, the actor himself admitted to using drugs.
Joo Ji-hoon admitted that he did take ecstasy and ketamine during a party with friends but firmly denied involvement in transporting or dealing drugs from Japan to Korea. On June 23rd, 2009, the actor was sentenced to 6 months in prison, suspended for one year, 120 hours of community service and a fine of 360,000 won.
In the aftermath of his drug scandal, Joo Ji-hoon was banned from broadcasts on KBS, one of the major broadcasters in Korea. His roles in all the ongoing and scheduled projects were replaced and even his birthday fanmeeting in Japan was canceled.
In addition to the drug controversies, the hate towards Joo Ji-hoon intensified when he appeared in the “Fxxk U” music video of Brown Eyed Girls’ Gain, known as a sexy icon of the Korean entertainment industry, then publicized his romantic relationship with the female idol. After the two broke up in 2017, Gain was found to have taken propofol.
Amidst the controversy, she openly exposed her ex-boyfriend in a social media post, saying “As everyone knows, I was the girlfriend of a former drug taker. Of course, he has served his punishment and is now working hard. However, his friend once tried to persuade me to use drugs, and I almost gave in due to my unstable mental state.” Since then, Joo Ji-hoon has not publicly dated any other celebrities nor considered marriage even after entering his 40s.
Unprecedented Return To Showbiz With Impressive Acting
Similarly, a lot of Korean stars, such as Yoochun, Don Spike, T.O.P, etc., have also faced downfalls due to drug controversies, Joo Ji-hoon, however, was a rare case that successfully gained back the trust of netizens and returned to the entertainment industry. 2 years after the scandal, Joo Ji-hoon made his comeback with “Antique” and even won a Baeksang award. After getting discharged from the military in 2011, he signed with KeyEast Entertainment owned by Bae Yong-joon and continued acting.
With his impressive performance in “Five Fingers”, Joo Ji-hoon won several trophies at prestigious awards ceremonies. From 2019 to 2021, the actor proved to the public that he had reflected on his past mistakes and was working hard to repay those who supported him with excellent acting. It was not until “Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds” became a mega-hit movie in 2017 that Joo Ji-hoon once again received huge love from Asian viewers thanks to the supporting role of Haewonmaek. Later, he created a craze with another Crown Prince role in the hit zombie series “Kingdom” and also proved his solid acting ability by starring alongside trustworthy actresses, such as Kim Hye-soo in “Hyena” and Jeon Ji-hyun in “Jirisan”.
2024 marked another milestone in Joo Ji-hoon’s acting career. Releasing 4 series continuously, including “Love Your Enemy”, “Light Shop”, “Blood Free” and “The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call”, on Disney+, tvN and Netflix, the actor amazed viewers with his hard work and dedication to acting.
Should Joo Ji-hoon Be Forgiven For His Drug Scandal?
To answer this question, many have pointed out reasons that made Joo Ji-hoon different from other celebrities who took drugs.
Joo Ji-hoon’s acting came as the first reason. Ever since his successful debut with “Goong”, Joo Ji-hoon has led many of his projects to success, with high ratings, high grossing, and record-breaking achievements, from “Along with the Gods” to “Hyena”, “The Mask”, “Five Fingers”, “Jirisan”, etc. Especially, the Netflix series “Kingdom” even opened a new era for the zombie genre on this OTT platform.
Most recently, “Trauma Code: Heroes on Call” led by Joo Ji-hoon immediately rose to No.1 on the worldwide rankings, proving that the actor has a good selection of projects. He also took home the Best Actor in TV award at the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards, held on the evening of May 5, 2025, at COEX Hall in Gangnam, Seoul.
Aside from that, he has also appeared at many film festivals and received a lot of awards for his acting. Despite his past controversies, Joo Ji-hoon successfully proved his talents and gained recognition from not only viewers but also movie critics and experts.
Secondly, Joo Ji-hoon’s sincerity and efforts to rebuild his filmography after the scandal also contributed to his success. Despite challenges and hate from the public, the actor insisted on pursuing acting and focusing only on improving his performance while taking all the feedback and criticism from netizens. As time goes by, Joo Ji-hoon has gradually been welcomed again by viewers and re-gained his image as a good actor.