Prince's Desertion Case Goes Viral in Korea Darren Wang 'Single-handedly Destroys the Entertainment Industry'

Previously disgraced by a scandal, Prince (Chiu Sheng-yi) was handcuffed on March 1st and taken from his rented apartment in Taipei for investigation. This drew harsh criticism from netizens: 'Even GD served in the military,' 'BTS all went and came back,' noting that while international-level Korean stars like G-Dragon and BTS obediently report for military duty, Taiwanese celebrities rack their brains to dodge service—a situation that becomes particularly ironic in comparison.

In addition, from Darren Wang, Hsieh Shih-ling, Chen Bolin, Hsiu Chieh-kai, Chen Ling-jiu, William, Chen Da-tian, Hsieh Kunda, Chang Shu-wei, Liao Yun-chieh (Xiao Jie), Da-gen, Li Quan, A-Hu, Tang Zhen-gang, A-Da to Prince and others, the Taiwanese celebrity military dodging scandal has reached Korea, actually climbing into the top three of entertainment news rankings there. This time, it can be said they've "infamously gone international" due to this scandal.

The footage of Prince being handcuffed over draft dodging went viral in Korea, prompting a surge of online comments praising, 'Even PSY did military duty twice,' 'It’s impressive and makes people proud that all seven BTS members went to the army.'

In fact, in the 2000s, Korea also had a serious problem with celebrities dodging military service. Singer Yoo Seung-jun, who debuted in 1997 and became one of the most popular K-pop stars, dodged the draft in 2002, eventually settling in the US and being banned from ever stepping foot in Korea again—since then, Korean idols have obediently completed their military duties.

The largest celebrity draft evasion scandal in the history of Taiwan's entertainment circle is in turmoil. Initially, Darren Wang mistakenly thought he was being scammed, but this led to the uncovering of a military evasion ring, dragging in many top male stars and shocking Taiwanese society. Recently, it was reported that Darren Wang dutifully finished his service term in mid-March, raising questions about his current situation. According to Taiwan's ETtoday, he currently has no permanent agent, and industry insiders believe that not until the verdict on his draft evasion case is released will he make new arrangements.

Last February, he claimed to have been scammed and brought along a wealthy second-generation friend with close police ties, Yu Xiangmin, to file a police report. Without admitting to being a draft dodger, the prosecutors accidentally discovered evidence of his evasion from mobile chats. It was later revealed that, years ago, he had paid 3.6 million TWD (about 150,000 SGD) to commission a group to forge fake medical records to avoid service. Because the group's ringleader, Chen Zhimin, was imprisoned for drug trafficking and fraud and had lost contact, Darren Wang mistakenly thought he himself was the victim of a scam and furiously went to the police. From the chat records, prosecutors also tracked down Chen Zhimin and obtained crucial evidence linking Chen Ling-jiu, Chen Bolin, and others, exposing the largest celebrity draft evasion scandal in history.

Funnily enough, in the end, Darren Wang not only failed to successfully dodge the draft, but also lost a six-figure sum in SGD and destroyed his entertainment career, ultimately having to dutifully serve in the military. Netizens joked that compared to others, he's the best example of 'losing both the bride and the army'; others mockingly called him a man who, by sacrificing himself, single-handedly wiped out half the entertainment circle—becoming a hot topic in everyone's daily conversations.