Five Years in Prison for Impersonator

Five Years in Prison for Presidential Look alike in Chun Doo Hwan’s Korea

         This is the true story of a comedian being jailed for looking like the president and openly mocking him on TV. The Korean military dictators were well known for not having a sense of humor and cracking down on political comedians.

         Lee Juil was a famous Korean comedian and later a politician for a couple of years. He was most famous for being put on a media ban for three years during the Chun Doo-hwan era for mocking the President in public, as he was the spitting image of the President. The president was notorious for hating being publically mocked in public.

         Several other entertainers got into trouble during that era when the government tried to clean up the media and entertainment world banning anti-government comedy, and anything that could be seen as pro-North Korea. But Lee Juil stands out because he was banned for looking like the ex-president and making fun of him and his family members, particularly his infamous wife.

         A related incident illustrates the president’s sensitivities about being mocked in public. The president had announced a corruption crackdown, decrying that all high-level political and other figures must allow customs officers to check their baggage and pay duties like any other citizen. A lowly customs clerk demanded to see the first lady’s bags. and the President said “Go ahead’ The clerk noticed millions of won worth of high-priced watches and jewelry and started accessing the duty fees. His supervisor came over, apologized, and the President and his entourage were waived through the nothing to declare line. The clerk was sent down to Mokpo port, which would have been seen as quite a demotion. The story was reported overseas but not in Korea, although many people had heard of it. This incident occurred at the time of Lee Juil’s banishment from the entertainment world. I don’t recall if he covered it or not on his show before being banned.


         Before being banned, he was called the King of Comedy and famous for the tagline, “I am sorry for my bad looks”. That line might have been the line that got him into trouble, as the President was very sensitive about his looks and for being partially bald. After the end of the ban, he came back and ran for the National Assembly, serving a few terms in the early 90s before returning to doing what he loved - stand-up comedy and had a popular TV comedy show where he specialized in political satire. He died from lung cancer in 2001 and his last role was filming PSA commercials on the dangers of smoking.
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BIng -Co-Pilot background info


Lee Ju-il (born Jung Ju-il; October 24, 1940 – August 27, 2002) was a South Korean comedian, actor, and politician who served as the Representative of the Democratic Liberal Party for Guri-si Gyronggi-do from 1992 to 19961. He was called ‘King of Comedy’ in the 1980s1. He started his comedian career at Defense Agency for Public Information Services in 1960, and debuted as a host of Morning Star Performance Group in 19651. He created many popular culture languages such as ‘I am sorry for my bad looks’, and many people imitated his ‘duck dance’ on the tune of a song, Susie Q for a long time1.
Lee elected 14th Korean National Assembly in 1992. He finished political career by commenting, “I learned a lot about comedy”, and returned to his comedian career in 19961. Lee returned to television with late-night talk show, Lee Ju-il Tonight Show on SBS1. The show was very popular for his satire and humor on politics, business communities, society, and culture1. He retired from his career as finishing 100th episode of Lee Ju-il Tonight Show1.

Lee lost his only son to a motorcycle accident on November, 19911. He smoked more after his son’s death1. He conducted anti-smoking campaigns after diagnosed with Lung cancer on November 17, 20011. He died of lung cancer on August 27, 2002, 3:15pm at National Cancer Center1.

Chun Doo-hwan (전두환; January 18, 1931 – November 23, 2021) was a South Korean army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah as president of South Korea from 1980 to 19881.
Chun usurped power after the 1979 assassination of President Park Chung Hee, who was also a military dictator1. Chun orchestrated the 12 December 1979 military coup, then cemented his military dictatorship in the 17 May 1980 military coup in which he declared martial law1. He established the Fifth Republic of Korea on 3 March 19811.
During his tenure, South Korea’s economy grew at its highest rate ever, achieving South Korea’s first trade surplus in 19861. After the June Struggle democratization movement of 1987, Chun conceded to allowing the December 1987 presidential election to be free and open1. It was won by his close friend and ally Roh Tae-woo, who would continue many of Chun’s policies during his own rule into the 1990s1.
In 1996, Chun was sentenced to death for his role in the suppression of the Gwangju Uprising which led to the deaths of hundreds, possibly thousands, of citizens1. His sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment2.
Chun was born in Hapcheon County, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea1. He entered the Korean Military Academy in 1951 and graduated in 19552. He served in various official posts and was made a brigadier general in 19782. After the assassination of President Park in 1979, Chun, as the chief of army security command, took charge of the investigation of his death2.
Chun Doo-hwan passed away on November 23, 20211.



NEW PROMPT: Tomorrow, April 20, is National Look-Alike Day. Write a story or poem about someone who keeps getting mistaken for someone famous.