More women accuse director, actor of misconduct

Additional women stepped forward to accused director Kim Ki-duk and actor Cho Jae-hyun of rape and sexual assault on the MBC television program “PD Notebook” Tuesday evening.

The first allegations made against Kim and Cho were aired on the same program in March. Five months later, the show featured additional women - mostly actresses and film staff - who claim to be still suffering from the trauma of rapes committed by Kim and Cho. While shaking, the alleged victims expressed regret for not having stepped forward sooner, saying that there may not have been as many victims had they spoken up earlier.

“Director Kim did not hesitate to say abusive things, and even came to where I was staying and waited for around 20 minutes,” said one woman who had worked with Kim. Another film crew member said, “Kim attempted to touch young actresses’ bodies, claiming that he was giving them acting lessons.”

An office worker involved in the entertainment business also appeared on the show and revealed that she had been raped by Cho. The two first met at a dinner with a group of other people who were working on a drama.

When she stood up to go to the bathroom, Cho followed and forced himself upon her inside a bathroom stall, according to the woman.

A Korean-Japanese woman, who was formerly an actress, said she was raped by Cho 16 years ago on Tuesday’s episode. According to her, Cho brought her to a bathroom stall and forced himself on her. Later, she said he apologized to the alleged victim’s mother, saying, “I thought she would be more open about such a thing since she is from Japan.”

“I might not be able to have a baby because I took too many pills [from the mental institution],” the former actress said in tears.

Despite the multiple testimonies, Kim remains adamant that he is innocent. He filed a defamation suit against the actresses and the producers of “PD Notebook” for false accusations and defamation.

Cho released an official statement on Wednesday. Through his legal representative, Cho said, “‘PD Notebook’ distorted facts by delivering one-sided arguments and didn’t even provide me a chance to reply.” He added, “I will take action against any threats or misguided reports. I sued the Korean-Japanese actress for blackmail and will continue to take strong action [against her].”

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]