Nam Joo-hyuk’s agency debunks bullying accusations, seeks severe legal action
Korean talent agency SOOP denied allegations that actor Nam Joo-hyuk bullied his classmates during his middle to high school days.
The statement comes after a K-entertainment news portal released the report of an informant who accused the now 28-year-old actor of being a gang member in school. The informant allegedly used to go to the same school as the actor, who attended Changyong Middle School and Suil High School in South Korea.
According to the unnamed source, the Start-Up star hit, shoved, and swore on his classmates. Other claims included Nam commanding students to run errands and incidents wherein the actor would throw mechanical pencil leads to the anonymous informant, who also presented his high school yearbook picture as proof.
SOOP, on the other hand, released a statement saying the the allegations were "not true in the slightest" and that they are merely one-sided.
“After checking the truth with the actor regarding the initial report, we have confirmed that all the relevant information is not true in the slightest," the agency said, as translated by Soompi.
"We also express our regret at the one-sided report from the media that did not check the truth even once with the agency or the actor before publishing the article," SOOP continued, noting that the release of their statement was delayed as they have to confirm the facts first.
Considering the defamatory charges that provoked serious harm and pain to the actor and his family, Nam’s agency stated that it will seek severe legal action and will request a correction report from the Press Arbitration Commission (PAC) against the media outlet that published false information.
“We will file criminal charges against the reporter of the media outlet that first reported [the claims] as well as the anonymous source,” read the statement.
SOOP said that it is now in the process of carrying out the necessary legal steps. It also requested the public to refrain from spreading baseless gossip or making speculative reports.
"After this time, the agency will take severe legal action against publishing one-sided claims without checking the truth online (via social media and YuTube). We will also respond strongly through punishment without leniency against malicious over-analyzations and interpretations, actions that encourage this, and malicous posts and comments that go beyond mere expression of opinions," the agency said.
Nam Joo-hyuk was one of the lead actors who starred in popular Korean dramas such as Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo, Start-Up, and The Bride of Habaek.