Theater Shinhwa’s CEO Kim Young-soo (김영수) and veteran actor Han Jae-young (한재영) are other prominent figures from the Korean entertainment industry at the centre of sexual harassment accusations.
On Sunday, 4 March, an anonymous actress, who had entered the Shinhwa theater company in 2010, alleged both the theater CEO and her senior actor harassed her.
The actress claims to first being sexually harassed by Kim. When brought to a motel room to discuss work related to acting, Kim asked her to come to bed with him. After she rejected him, he became angry and told her that he shouldn’t have given her so many parts in the play. The actress says that after the incident, Kim continuously scolded her for any mistakes she made at the theater.
The actress then tried to confide in Han, who sided with Kim and eventually sexually harassed her as well.
After the news of his sexual harassment broke, Han Jae-young’s agency, Sem Company, released an official apology. After that followed an apology from Han himself: “I called her, and sincerely apologized to her. She has forgiven me and accepted the apology.”
Kim also released an official apology. “I would like to sincerely apologize to the person who has been hurt by my past actions,” said Kim, adding that “If I get the chance to meet her, I will formally apologize and do everything I can to reveal the pain.”
On Monday, 5 March, the actress uploaded another post, revealing that she had received an apology from Han Jae-young personally. She also thanked the people who helped her have courage to come forward.
Kim Young-soo and Han Jae-young are not the only ones involved in the controversy. In recent weeks, a slew of celebrities have beeen accused of sexual assault and/or sexual harassment, including Jo Jae-hyun, Oh Dal-su, Kim Ki-duk, Jo Min-ki, Lee Yoon-taek, Lee Hyun-joo, Cho Geun-hyun, Ko Un, among others. The #MeToo movement in Korea is growing as more victims are coming forward about sexual harassment in the Korean entertainment industry.
