Super Junior's Kangin is sabotaging his own career
Calling for Kangin to quit is too harsh
How true that old adage, that a leopard doesn't change its spots.
Two weeks ago, Kangin, a member of mega K-pop boy band Super Junior, crashed his car into a street light pole in Gangnam, Seoul.
To make things worse, he drove away immediately and his blood alcohol level subsequently tested high enough for licence suspension.
The 31-year-old is now under investigation for hit-and-run and drink driving.
To ardent fans of Super Junior, who have followed their idols' journey from the beginning, Kangin's news arrived more as a massive letdown than a shocker.
This wasn't his first brush with the law, nor was it his first drink-driving case.
Back in September 2009, he was involved in a bar brawl and was interrogated by the police, but no assault charges were filed.
In January 2010, he was indicted for drink-driving and hit-and-run, and was slapped with an 8 million won (S$9,200) fine - he had fled the scene after his vehicle hit a parked taxi.
Six years later, Kangin is still Super Junior's token trouble-maker.
Some fans are reportedly so enraged by his bad boy ways that they've started an online petition for Kangin to leave the group, as his "actions are not beneficial to Super Junior's image at all".
It's truly disappointing how Kangin is sabotaging his own career.
I've always loved his unpretentious masculine charm and he is one of my favourite SuJu members. The other is the wacky, comical Shindong.
Out of the 11 dudes, Kangin and Shindong are the only two who look like the type of rugged, no-frills guy ordinary girls can hang out with comfortably.
The rest of the band, as handsome as they are, come across as too Greek god-like and detached (Siwon), too pretty (Donghae), too flamboyant (Heechul), too effeminate (Ryeowook) and too sensitive (Kyuhyun).
CHANCE
As upsetting as his latest shenanigans are, I don't feel Kangin should be mercilessly kicked out of SuJu. Everyone deserves a second chance, or third in this case.
In 2011, BigBang's Daesung was involved in a traffic accident that resulted in the death of a motorcyclist. All charges against him were dismissed.
In the same year, his bandmate G-Dragon was busted for smoking marijuana - which he denied.
Both managed to shake everything off and BigBang have since grown from strength to strength.
Also, it's not as if Kangin's wrongdoings are vile or immoral.
Remember frontman Ian Watkins, of Welsh rock outfit Lostprophets, who is serving a 29-year jail sentence for committing child sex crimes?
Now, that's a monster.
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