First Broadcast Appearance in 5 Years with Explanation
"Drunken Person Swore and Hit, Slightly Pushed"
Former Ssireum wrestler and mixed martial artist Choi Hong-man (44) has addressed the 'college student assault' rumor for the first time.
On the 20th, Choi Hong-man appeared as a guest on Channel A's "Oh Eun-young's Geumjjok Counseling Center" and shared his concerns. Choi revealed that he feels uncomfortable with people's gazes and attention, and has been living a reclusive life alone in Jeju Island for five years while training. On the show, MC Jung Hyung-don mentioned, "Wasn't there an article in the past about you assaulting a woman?" referring to the old rumor. Dr. Oh Eun-young also diagnosed, "That incident seems to have had a significant impact on Hong-man's life."
Choi Hong-man explained, "It was when I was running a bar in Seoul, and the theme of our bar was a place where men and women could freely meet." He continued, "When people drink separately and then sit together, money is involved. But the men ran away because they didn't want the women. The women got angry and drank all the alcohol there until they got drunk." He added, "Then one of them came to me and grabbed my clothes. I naturally pushed her away, but she reported it to the police." He emphasized, "I was investigated because of that. I never hit anyone." However, he said, "I told the police everything as it happened and was naturally cleared of charges. The articles only said 'he hit someone' but didn't mention the conclusion. This is the first time I'm talking about this on a broadcast."
When Choi Hong-man said, "People who know me are aware, but sometimes those who don't ask me, 'Did you really hit her?'" Dr. Oh asked, "Is that incident related to your social anxiety?" Choi recalled, "That was when I was running the bar and first started interacting with the public. I met a lot of people when I started the business." He added, "I think that was when my social anxiety began."
In 2011, Choi Hong-man was accused of assaulting a college student in his 20s. The Gwangjin Police Station in Seoul reported that in October 2011, Choi was booked without detention on charges of assaulting a college student A, who was a customer at his bar in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. Later, A posted on an online community, "Choi Hong-man came close to me in a scary way and hit my head," and "During the police investigation, Choi claimed, 'I was hit first.'" At the time, Choi denied the allegations, saying, "The woman claims I hit her with my fist, but that's false. She followed me, grabbed my clothes, hit me, cursed, and I only pushed her lightly."
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