Nam Joo-hyuk's agency denies bully allegations against actor

Actor Nam Joo-hyuk [WARNER BROS KOREA]

Actor Nam Joo-hyuk’s agency Management Soop denied bullying allegations that surfaced against the actor on Monday.

“We apologize for our late response due to checking the facts,” the agency said in its official statement. “We have asked the actor about the content of the initial report [about bullying accusations] and have checked that it is entirely untrue. We express our regrets that the news outlet [who broke the allegation] did not once inquire our agency or the actor to fact-check before publishing the article.”

Earlier on Monday, local news outlet The Days reported a tip-off from someone claiming to have attended the same middle and high school as Nam.

“Nam was part of a group of school bullies, and they would go around bullying numerous students,” the accuser said. “They would hurl curse words at students and hit them every day, not to mention pushing the students to cut in line during lunchtime.

“They would frequently force other students to bring them snacks from the store and throw mechanical pencil lead from behind,” continued the accuser. "After seeing him on the small screen as a pure-hearted protagonist, the humiliating moments came back to me. Former schoolmates who were bullied even more severely than I was refrain from watching television and are receiving psychiatric treatment."

Nam recently starred as the male lead in the hit tvN romantic comedy series "Twenty Five Twenty One" (2021), which aired between February and April.

"I’m reporting this in hopes that people who had experiences similar to mine suffer less now as adults," the accuser said.

"Since the false report has severely damaged the actor’s reputation, we are planning to promptly require the Press Arbitration Commission to order The Days to correct its report," Management Soop continued. "We will also file a criminal lawsuit against the reporter of the news outlet who broke the story and the anonymous accuser. We are currently in the process of seeking legal advice from our legal firm.”

The agency added that from now on, it will take legal action against online posts, be it on social media or YouTube, that spread unconfirmed claims about its artists. It will also take action against comments or posts that maliciously spread such allegations.

Nam debuted in 2013 as a fashion model and starred in popular K-dramas including tvN’s “Cheese in The Trap” (2016), SBS’s “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo” (2016), MBC’s “Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Ju” (2016-17), Netflix’s “The School Nurse Files” (2020) and tvN’s "Start-Up (2020)."

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]