Is Ji Soo innocent? K-drama star FALSELY accused of sexual assault, accuser apologizes
In a shocking new turn, actor Ji Soo's legal representatives have claimed that the sexual assault claims made by various social media users were false. The main accuser has also apologized to the actor with a handwritten letter. Ji Soo who was largely accused of school violence along with sexual violence with coercion pursued legal actions in May, two months after the controversy broke.
According to the latest update from Ji Soo’s legal representative, law firm Shin & Kim, after the first accuser of sexual assault apologized, a number of 'false' posts were deleted and the users have gone into hiding without taking accountability for their action, which made 'Strong Girl Bong Soon' actor a target of harsh criticism.
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Is actor Ji Soo innocent?
Actor Ji Soo's legal reps have revealed a number of details that claim that the sexual violence accusations against 'Angry Mom' star were false. The statement notes, "In March 2021, false posts claiming that the client “committed a sexual crime” in the past were uploaded to several anonymous online communities. In the case of the post claiming that the client sexually assaulted his wife in the past, the writer of the post reached out to the client’s former agency to admit that the post was false and apologized."
The statement also adds, "The other posts, however, continued to be spread and reproduced without any effort to verify the facts. As a result, the client filed criminal complaints against the writers of these false posts in order to correct the false information and bring the truth to light."
Who was the false accuser?
The statement has further shed light on what went behind the online accusations. It said, "Through a search and seizure of IP addresses and more, the writer of the false post was identified recently, and it was confirmed that the person was someone with no connection to the client whatsoever. The writer is a soldier who enlisted in the military not long ago, and he admitted that he wrote the post and that the contents of it are all false."
The accuser apologized to Ji Soo with a handwritten letter
The original accuser who is currently in a military training center has also extended a handwritten apology to the actor after the online vilification spread like wildfire. The statement divulges, "Through a handwritten letter sent from the military training center, he stated that he had written the false post due to his anxiety about his impending military enlistment and sincerely apologized to the client. He also earnestly asked for leniency as he is currently serving in the military and his mother is fighting cancer."
"Considering the circumstances of the writer as well as his own upcoming military enlistment, the client accepted his apology and showed the writer leniency without any conditions. However, most of the other writers of the false posts immediately deleted their posts after setting the internet abuzz and have gone into hiding. We will show no leniency for these writers and continue to take legal action", the statement said.
'School violence allegations contain false information'
Along with the sexual assault allegations, Ji Soo was accused as a perpetrator of school violence for which the actor immediately apologized. The legal reps said, "Meanwhile, most of the posts that raised suspicions about the client being a perpetrator of school violence in the past mostly contain false information. The client has sued the initial accuser and the writers of other posts and comments regarding school violence for defamation."
It concluded by stating, "Recently, the court judged that there was enough reason to believe in the falsity of the posts and the damage suffered by the client, which led to a search and seizure warrant to be issued for the purpose of identifying the writers behind the school violence accusation posts. We inform you that the related investigation is currently ongoing."
Ji Soo's response
Earlier, Ji Soo also came forward to deny most of the allegations. The actor said, "About two months ago, numerous posts and comments raising suspicions about me were posted on anonymous community sites, and many posts including the first post and media reports contained numerous, exaggerated and distorted stories and obvious false facts. I quickly apologized without any excuses in order not to damage the people who were hurt and the work I was appearing in, and I sincerely apologized and received forgiveness from those who contacted me."
Speaking of maligning posts, he stated, "there were also false comments that I committed sexual assault, and when these posts became issues, the person who posted them first contacted me and apologized that the comments were not true and that the wrong contents became an issue. There was also a case of requesting correction and deletion of their own comments."
The damage caused by the false allegations has greatly impacted the 28-year-old 'My First First Love' actor. He admitted, "In a situation where obvious false facts and distorted stories without any substance are accepted as true, even [by] those who believe me until the end, I started a legal response to inform the truth before it was too late." He went on to clarify, "I was aware of the fact that the postings were false immediately after they were posted, but due to controversy about me, I did not want to put any more pressure on the drama being broadcast, so the complaint was held after the drama's end."