Supporting Actress Sisters Passed Away... Controversy Over Sexual Assault Perpetrators Returning to Set

MBC "Contract Termination with Company"

MBC has decided to terminate its contract with the company after controversy arose over a person accused as the perpetrator in the 'Supporting Actress Sisters Death Case' participating in the filming of the MBC drama 'Yeonin' (Lovers).

The production team of the drama 'Yeonin' stated on the MBC Viewer Communication Center on the 5th, "We take the concerns of viewers regarding the agency managing supporting actors for 'Yeonin' very seriously," and added, "An external professional agency related to supporting actors is also involved in the production of 'Yeonin,' and we have confirmed that the individual involved in the controversy visited some filming sites."

The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. / Photo by Yonhap News

The production team explained, "Considering viewers' opinions and concerns, MBC initially took measures to prohibit the individual from accessing the production site, and to completely exclude any possible participation, we have decided to immediately terminate the contract with the agency."

The 'Supporting Actress Sisters Death Case' was brought to public attention in September 2012 through JTBC's 'Exploration Code J.' In 2004, Ms. A, then a graduate student, was sexually assaulted repeatedly by 12 officials managing actors while working part-time as a supporting actress in dramas at the urging of her younger sister Ms. B, and she reported them to the police.

However, during the police investigation, Ms. A suffered secondary trauma as she was asked to describe the victimization in detail. The perpetrators continued to threaten her. Eventually, she withdrew the complaint after 1 year and 7 months. In August 2009, she took her own life. Her suicide note read, "I was their plaything. They touched me. There is no reason to live anymore."

The younger sister, who was tormented by guilt for introducing her sister to the supporting actress part-time job, also passed away. Their father, who had a chronic illness, died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

As public calls for reinvestigation grew louder, the police formed a task force for a fact-finding investigation at the end of March 2018, but the case was closed without reopening the investigation due to reasons such as the statute of limitations.