Volleyball Player Lee Jae-young: "I Did Not Commit School Violence... Victims Are Demanding 100 Million Won"

Regarding School Violence Allegations: "I Did Not Do It"
"Over 10 Years Passed Before Exposure... Curious About the Intent"
"One Victim Demanded Money in Exchange for a Settlement Agreement"

Volleyball player Lee Jae-young, who effectively left the V-League after allegations of being a school violence perpetrator surfaced in the past, has come forward with a statement. He claimed that he never committed school violence and that he was asked for a settlement amount of 100 million won by a classmate who claimed to be a victim.

On the 16th, Lee Jae-young said in an interview with the volleyball magazine 'The Spike,' "I do not want to be blamed for something I did not do."

He emphasized, "I still do not understand their behavior. I have clearly apologized several times, saying 'I'm sorry' for the problematic behavior of my twin sister Lee Da-young that happened in middle school."

He added, "But I am curious about the intention behind suddenly revealing this after more than 10 years."

Lee Jaeyoung, Lee Dayoung volleyball players Photo by Yonhap News

According to Lee Jae-young's claims in the interview, he initially expressed his willingness to meet in person and apologize if he had done anything wrong to the victim side. He also wrote an apology letter at the request of the victims, but the meeting ultimately did not take place.

Lee Jae-young said, "I wrote an apology letter for something I did not do, but they said they did not want to meet and cut off all contact," adding, "Later, they demanded the permanent expulsion of both of us."

In particular, Lee Jae-young claimed that he maintained a friendship with one of the victims even after transferring schools. He said, "If I had severely bullied him, would we have met and gone to watch movies together after transferring?" and "To be clear, I have no memory of having done anything bad that I should be held responsible for toward them."

Also, the victims reportedly demanded a settlement of 100 million won per person, but Lee Jae-young’s side refused. Regarding this, Lee said, "One of the victims contacted us separately, saying they would write a settlement agreement if we gave them only 10 million won on the condition that they would not inform the other victims," adding, "Given these circumstances, I cannot help but think they had other intentions."

Lee Jae-young debuted in the V-League in the 2014-2015 season wearing the Heungkuk Life uniform. At that time, he won the Rookie of the Year award and was expected to be the 'post-Kim Yeon-koung.'

However, in February 2021, allegations arose that he and his twin sister Lee Da-young had committed school violence against classmates during their school days, leading him to effectively leave the domestic professional league. In October of the same year, the two joined PAOK Thessaloniki in Greece.

However, Lee Jae-young ended his contract with PAOK after one month due to injury, returned to Korea, and is currently a free agent (FA). His sister Lee Da-young continues to play in overseas leagues such as Romania and France.