Actor Kim Dong-hee comes clean about bullying his classmate, apologizes to victim
After much back and forth with the police and the family of the victim, Actor Kim Dong-hee finally released his official statement through his agency JYP Entertainment. On January 13, Kim Dong-hee asserted that he indeed had a fight with the victim who accused him of bullying.
In his official statement, Dong-hee spoke about the consequences of his fight with the said victim as well as revealed his own reflections about the incident. He had initially claimed that he had never bullied his classmate, who was a person with a disability. He had stated that as he grew up around many such people, he would never bully someone with a disability. Dong-hee was last seen in Netflix’s ‘Extracurricular’ that was released in 2020 as well as Park Seo-joon starrer, ‘Itaewon Class’
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In his official statement, Dong-hee stated that he was coming out with his statement in light of the many allegations being hurled at him. He said that when he was in Grade 5, he got into a fight with one of his elementary school classmates. He added that soon after the fight, both he and the said alleged victim were disciplined by their teacher. While further discussing the incident, Dong-hee said that he had righted all wrongs with the family of the victim.
Dong-hee then said, “Upon hearing this news, my mother scolded me greatly, and I went to my friend’s house with my mother to apologize to my friend and my friend’s mother.” He stated that after this incident, Dong-hee expected that the victim and his family had forgiven him because after the incident he had studied in harmony with the alleged victim and also had dinner with the victim's family and spent a lot of time with their family while growing up.
Kim Dong-hee acknowledges 'scars' caused by him
Dong-hee acknowledged the victim and their family’s pain as he said, “I didn't know I was the only one thinking that all the scars left behind by me on those people were cured.” He stated that soon after the accusatory post against him was released, he did not have the courage to apologize to his friend immediately. Dong-hee said that if he would have apologized then, he would have been misunderstood and his words would have been twisted out of context.
Dong-hee ended his statement by saying, “I sincerely apologize for the hurt that my friend [suffered that] has been inflicted on [my friend] by me, and I want to resolve it in the future. Also, I deeply reflect and apologize to those who were hurt by my immature words and actions as a child.”
Since the year 2021, many idols and entertainers were called out by alleged victims for their childhood behavior that included school and high school bullying. These allegations led to various careers being tainted while many other entertainers still have their futures hanging in balance while companies and police authorities investigate the allegations against artists.