Robert Bradley Holley (born November 14, 1958), also known by the

Korean name A Korean name (Hangul: ; Hanja: ) consists of a family name followed by a given name, as used by the Korean people in both South Korea and North Korea. In the Korean language, ''ireum'' or ''seongmyeong'' usually refers to the family name (''seon ...

Ha Il (하일), is a naturalized South Korean lawyer and television personality. A native of California and a former U.S. citizen, Holley relinquished his birth citizenship in 1997 in order to take South Korean citizenship.

Career

Holley first came to South Korea in 1978 as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, remaining there for two years. He returned to the country in 1982 to study at

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the "SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in the ...

, and after graduating from

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

in 1987 with a J.D. degree, began pursuing a legal career in South Korea. He founded the Kwangju Foreign School in 1996. He began his rise to television stardom in the early 2000s, becoming well known for his spoken Korean which shows heavy influence from the

Gyeongsang dialect The Gyeongsang dialects (also spelled Kyŏngsang), or Southeastern Korean, are dialects of the Korean language of the Yeongnam region, which includes both Gyeongsang provinces, North and South. There are approximately 13,000,000 speakers. Unlik ...

spoken in his adopted hometown of

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

Personal life

Holley is a descendant of William Bradford, one of the signatories of the

Mayflower Compact The Mayflower Compact, originally titled Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth, was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the men aboard the ''Mayflower,'' consisting of separatist Puritans, adventurers, an ...

. He is married to a South Korean woman, with whom he has three sons; the eldest was born in 1988. He decided to naturalize as a South Korean citizen in 1997, which required him to give up his U.S. citizenship. He has described this as a difficult decision, especially since at the time South Korea was not a member of the U.S.

Visa Waiver Program The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a program of the United States federal government that allows nationals of specific countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism, business, or while in transit for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa. It ...

; a U.S. consular official tried to discourage him from giving up citizenship, warning that he might not be able to get a visa to return to his country of birth, but Holley nevertheless decided to go through with it. A notice confirming his loss of U.S. citizenship was published in the ''

Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...

'' in February 1998. He is a close friend of

Lee Joon-gi Lee Joon-gi (born 17 April 1982) is a South Korean actor, singer, dancer, and model. He rose to fame on his first leading role playing a clown in the critically acclaimed film ''The King and the Clown'' (2005) and gained further recognition in ...

, who rose to fame in the mid-2000s as a film actor. On April 10, 2019, Holley was arrested by the Cyber Investigation Division of the Gyeonggi-do Southern Region Police Department on the charge of using methamphetamines pursuant to the Narcotics Control Act. He was released the same day after a court ruled that he had a low chance of destroying evidence. His case was referred to the prosecution on May 1, 2019. On August 29, 2019, at the Seoul Western District Court, Holley was given a one-year prison sentence suspended for two years and 40 hours of drug treatment. The sentence took into consideration the fact that Holley had expressed regret for using methamphetamines.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holley, Robert 1958 births Living people American emigrants to South Korea American Mormon missionaries in South Korea Naturalized citizens of South Korea Former United States citizens 20th-century South Korean lawyers 21st-century South Korean lawyers South Korean television personalities West Virginia State University alumni Yonsei University alumni Yeongdo Ha clan Latter Day Saints from California