Actor Song Ha-yoon accused of beating up fellow student on playground in high school

Actor Song Ha-yoon [KINGKONG BY STARSHIP]

Actor Song Ha-yoon, who recently gained popularity through her lead antagonist role on tvN drama series “Marry My Husband,” was accused of having beaten a fellow student in high school.

An anonymous informant accused an “actress from a popular drama series that recently ended” of beating them up in school in 2004 on JTBC’s current affairs program “Crime Chief” (2014-) Monday.

The informant, who claimed to have attended the same high school as Song, appeared on the show with their face, name and voice undisclosed.

“In August 2004, I was called out to the playground behind the school by a third year in high school,” said the informant, said to have been in their second year at the time. “I was then slapped across my face for one hour and 30 minutes without even knowing the reason why,” the informant continued.

The informant contended that the actor had transferred to a different high school after getting involved in another school violence incident.

The show said the production team called the actor’s agency, which responded that “nothing comes to the actor's mind” regarding the allegations.

The informant did not reveal the actor's name, but the show did reveal a blurred photo of “an actress who left a deep impression on the audience with her villain role,” which online users were quick to identify as Song.

The actor denied the claims through her agency on Monday, saying she has “never even met” the person who made the accusations.

“With full recognition of the severity of the situation, we called the informant for verification after first being alerted of the situation,” the actor’s agency, Kingkong by Starship, said in a statement on Monday.

“We then asked for a meeting to get a better account of the truth, but the informant refused; we then asked for a phone call, which went unanswered.”

“We have gone over the facts with [Song] over the informant’s claims, and we can confirm that all allegations are false. Song has never even met the informant,” the agency said.

Song, whose real name is Kim Mi-sun, debuted under the stage name “Kim Byul” in 2003 and began using Song Ha-yoon in 2012. She is known for her roles in the TV series “Fight for My Way” (2017) and “Please Don't Meet / Date Him” (2020-21) as well as the film “Intimate Strangers” (2018).

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]