#MeToo In Korea: Here Are The Korean Actors Who Have Admitted To Sexual Misconduct

A netizen accused a popular actor of sexually harassing his female juniors while he was part of a Busan theatre troupe in the ’90s. “Currently, he’s a famous comedy actor. To me, he’s a pervert, the devil, and a psychopath,” she wrote. Korean news reports then named the perpetrator as 49-year-old actor Oh Dal Soo, who has acted in numerous successful films such as Oldboy, Mapado and A Bittersweet Life, and is an in-demand supporting actor in Korean films. Dal Soo’s accuser then alleged that the actor had raped her, and said that there were “other victims”. Unhappy that Dal Soo denied all accusations ’cos of the anonymity of the source, theatre actress Uhm Ji Young then stepped up to expose his sexual misdeeds. She claimed that Dal Soo had taken her to a motel and put his hands on her body while trying to undress her. The actress, who is now an acting coach, has said that she spoke up to prevent the same thing from happening to her students. Dal Soo has since admitted to his wrongdoings and apologised to Ji Young and all his other victims.

Earlier reports claimed that a famous actor known only as “J” had sexually harassed a female staff member on the set of a TV show in 2013. According to the report, “J” had forced a kiss on her, and touched her chest and legs. Amidst speculation that the actor in question is Jo Jae Hyun, actress Choi Yul confirmed it by uploading a screenshot of Jae Hyun’s profile on her IG and wrote, “I was wondering when you would get exposed. It came a lot earlier than I had expected. This is only the beginning. There is still a lot of ‘trash’ out there. I can’t say much as I have a lot to lose, but until the day there are no perverts, #metoo #withyou.” Another of Jae Hyun’s alleged victims has also come forward, claiming that the 52-year-old actor would sneak up on her from behind and put his hand up her clothes. She also said that he had asked her to forget everything by giving her money. The actor has admitted to the allegations against him and apologised to his victims. He also resigned from his professorship at Kyungsung University and pulled out from his currently-airing drama Cross. Since then, more of his victims have come forward. One actress alleged that director Kim Ki Duk and Jae Hyun, who worked together on many films, such as Crocodile, Wild Animals and Bad Guy, would “knock on the door of [her] room like hyenas every night”. She also said that she was raped by both of them. In response to the fresh allegations against him, Jae Hyun said “80 percent” of them are false.

Even before he was accused of anything, the veteran actor and then-chairman of the Korean Actors Association came forward to admit that he has been guilty of sexually harassing women in the past. The 58-year-old actor, known for his daddy roles in K-dramas like Coffee Prince and Oh My Venus, was slammed by netizens for coming clean only for fear of being exposed. A former aspiring actress then came forward to recount her experience with the actor when they were in the same theatre company 25 years ago. She claimed that he had tried to play down the severity of his actions by calling what he did “harassment” when it was “most definitely sexual assault”.

In a detailed post on Facebook page “Theater Actors Against Sexual Violence”, a netizen recounted her experience with a “Professor K” who was her teacher at Sejong University. She claimed that “Professor K”, whom she later revealed to be actor Kim Tae Hoon, had taken her to a motel and sexually assaulted her. She wrote that after the assault, she sunk into depression and attempted suicide several times. Following the allegation, The Swindlers actor has apologised but claimed that he was in a relationship with his accuser, despite being married at that time. He has resigned from the university and stopped all other work.