Agencies "Completely Untrue... Announce Response"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] As the 'Hakpok' (school violence) Me Too movement, which started in the sports world, spreads rapidly to the entertainment industry, stars accused as perpetrators are unanimously strongly denying the allegations, calling them "clear falsehoods."
As of the 22nd, no entertainers have admitted to the school violence allegations. They have announced legal action against netizens who raised the accusations, calling them "clear falsehoods."
Recently, allegations of school violence perpetrators have been raised one after another against actors Jo Byung-gyu, Kim Dong-hee, Kim So-hye, Park Hye-soo, Seventeen member Mingyu, and trot singer Jin Hae-sung.
Their agencies immediately announced they would take legal action, calling the claims "false information."
Earlier on the 16th, a netizen claimed that Jo Byung-gyu had verbally abused others while attending school in New Zealand. However, after the agency announced legal action, the author admitted the post was false, apologized, and deleted the post.
It seemed the school violence allegations against Jo Byung-gyu had settled, but additional revelations surfaced. On the 17th, a claim was made that "(Jo Byung-gyu) was called a so-called 'iljin' (delinquent) during elementary and middle school," and on the 19th, another claim stated, "I was assaulted by Jo Byung-gyu and his group during his study abroad in New Zealand." The agency stated these were "false claims" and vowed to respond strongly.
Idol member Sujin also drew a line against school violence allegations. When posts appeared claiming "Sujin called my younger sibling and their friend into the bathroom to slap each other and sent a group text saying 'From now on, OOO (younger sibling) is bullied'" and "Sujin verbally abused actress Seo Shin-ae, who attended the same school," Sujin's side denied the allegations. Regarding Seo Shin-ae, they stated, "We have never even had a conversation."
However, after the allegations against Seo Shin-ae surfaced, the actress drew attention by posting meaningful messages consecutively on her SNS.
Seo Shin-ae posted "None of your excuse" and then shared a screenshot of the playback screen of singer Billie Eilish's song 'Therefore I Am.' The lyrics include lines such as "I'm not your friend," "Don't put my pretty name in your mouth," and "I don't want articles with your name next to mine," sparking various interpretations.
School violence allegations also arose against Kim Dong-hee, who appeared in 'Sky Castle' and 'Extracurricular.' A netizen revealed conversations with his classmates, saying, "He was someone who routinely hit and bullied others." The conversations included claims such as "(Kim Dong-hee) hung an e-cigarette around his neck or carried it in his uniform pocket and smoked inside the classroom," and "He slapped a classmate with a disability in an unfair game and called on weaker friends to give massages."
Kim Dong-hee's agency, NP Entertainment, stated, "The post first appeared in 2018, and at that time, the agency confirmed with the actor and school officials that there was no school violence-related incident," and announced plans to take legal action.
Park Hye-soo, who is about to appear in a drama, was also accused of being a school violence perpetrator. On that day, a comment was posted on Park Hye-soo's SNS saying, "Hye-soo unnie, this is Kim OO from Daechung Middle School. Accept your punishment." Another netizen, claiming to be a classmate of Park Hye-soo, agreed, saying, "Your school violence finally came out," and "You were a former iljin and a school violence perpetrator."
Park Hye-soo's agency, Studio Santa Claus, stated, "These posts are false information maliciously slandering and defaming Park Hye-soo by exploiting the social atmosphere regarding school violence," and announced plans for legal action.
Actress Kim So-hye, formerly of girl group I.O.I, also hinted at legal action regarding the school violence controversy. A netizen pointed to Kim So-hye as a perpetrator, saying, "I'm not a direct victim, but I hope Kim So-hye feels a pang of conscience." The agency responded, calling it "false information," and said, "We have currently requested a police investigation and filed a first complaint to hold the spreaders legally responsible."
The same applies to Seventeen's Mingyu. Previously, a post claimed, "(Mingyu) was one of the iljin group," but the agency refuted, saying, "The middle school album A posted as evidence of the school violence allegations is from a different graduation year than Mingyu's," and "The post said Mingyu was cast in his third year of middle school, but Mingyu has been a Pledis trainee since his second year of middle school," denying the allegations as groundless.
The agency of Jin Hae-sung, who won KBS2's 'Trot National Competition,' also stated the allegations were untrue and announced plans for legal action.
Previously, school violence controversies were also raised against TOO's Woong-gi and singer Yoari, but their agencies also uniformly denied the claims.
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