Actor Lee Bum-soo's agency says resignation from university post is to focus on acting

Actor Lee Bum-soo [BIG PUNCH ENTERTAINMENT]

Actor Lee Bum-soo, who has been accused of abusing his power and favoring certain students at Shinhan University, denied all allegations but will resign and focus on acting, his agency Big Punch Entertainment announced Friday.

Lee has been teaching performing arts at Shinhan University for the past 10 years and was appointed dean of the Performing Arts Department.

The actor was accused by a group of students of favoring those who were more financially well-off and giving them higher grades. He was also accused of abusing his power to frequently change the time of his classes.

Lee was suspended by the university from his roles as a professor and dean on Jan. 19.

Through his law firm YK, Lee denied all accusations, insisting that the course he taught was a non-compulsory major course and that the class divisions were made based on students’ grades, not their financial status — which was impossible for Lee to discern, according to the actor.

Big Punch Entertainment once again stated Lee’s position and denied all allegations, announcing in a press release Friday that the actor’s resignation was due to personal reasons and to focus on his own acting, not an act of admission of guilt.

“Since the establishment of Shinhan University in 2012, Lee has done his best as a professor, establishing the curriculum of the newly founded Faculty of Performing Arts and recording a 50:1 entrance examination rate as the dean for the past five years,” Big Punch Entertainment said. “For the past four months, Lee has been silently enduring rumors and falsehoods that were recklessly spread by a report and faithfully responding to the university’s audit. Lee maintains that all accusations against him are baseless and that he is resigning from his post to focus on releasing a new film and a streaming service series.”

Lee’s attorneys at law firm YK will continue to take a strong stance against rumor-mongers and media reports that escalate the situation without confirming the facts, Big Punch Entertainment added.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]