SHINee memer Onew’s sexual harassment case was recently dismissed, according to SM Entertainment.
On Friday, 6 April 2018, SHINee (샤이니)’s management agency SM Entertainment announced that Onew (real name Lee Jin-ki, or 이진기) was cleared of all sexual harassment charges by the prosecution.
“It’s true that the prosecution has dropped all charges against Onew,” the agency confirmed.
On 12 August 2017, Onew was accused of sexually harassing a woman in her 20s at a club in Gangnam District of Seoul.
At the time, SM Entertainment stated that Onew had visited the club to congratulate an acquaintance who had debuted as a DJ. The agency stated that the physical contact was made unintentionally while he was drunk. His case was forwarded to the prosecution.
According to local media reports, the woman acknowledged that the incident could have happened due to the artist being drunk and submitted a withdrawal of charges.
Following the accusations last year, the public called for the 28-year-old artist to be removed from the TV drama ‘Youth Generation 2’, and he left the show. He also did not participate in several of SHINee’s concerts.
During his hiatus, several fan sites dedicated to Onew were also shut down.
In December 2017, Onew also issued a letter of apology to his fans apologizing for the controversy.
