Korean Television Personality And Lawyer Robert Holley Arrested For Drug Use

Korean television personality and lawyer, Robert Holley or Ha Il, has been arrested for purchasing drugs on the Internet and taking them.

On the afternoon of April 8, Holley was arrested on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act at a parking lot in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. He was suspected of taking Philopon, or methamphetamine, that he purchased online at his home in Seoul. His home was searched by the Cyber Crime Investigation Team of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency.

Holley has reportedly admitted to a portion of his charges. The police have also taken urine and hair samples and sent them to the National Forensic Service for analysis.

After his arrest, Holley’s name rose up to the top of the Korean real-time search engines and most netizens had a hard time believing the news. Comments expressing shock such as “I can’t believe it. Is it true?” “I can’t understand,” or “This is shocking,” flooded Holley’s Instagram page.

At 1:30 am on April 9, as Holley was being transferred to the Suwon Nambu Police Station to be put in jail, he made a statement in front of reporters, “I am sorry. My mind is heavy.”

Holley began working as an international lawyer in Korea in 1986 and won the favor of the public as he began appearing on variety programs and advertisements with his thick Busan dialect. In 1987, he relinquished his U.S. citizenship to take South Korean citizenship.