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Nam Joohyuk row: Third victim pops up, chat reveals actor actually stopped bullying

More classmates speak to another reputable Korean outlet defending Nam Joo-hyuk as they claim he was never a school bully

K-drama actor Nam Joo-hyuk has been embroiled in a school bullying scandal since June 20 when two former classmates claimed to be his victims. His label, SOOP immediately denied both accusations and is taking legal action against the first accuser who changed his story that he was just a friend of a victim. We saw progress as 18 classmates and two teachers spoke up in Joo-hyuk’s defence with some even revealing their identities to Dispatch. But we are back to a stalemate as a third victim claims sexual harassment via chats.

On July 6, an alleged female classmate claimed that Nam Joo-hyuk and his friends had forced her to join a group chat in 2012 and had bullied her. The screenshots showed that while the actor did not make the group, he was present. The alleged third victim shared the bullies had been forced to apologize when she reported it to the school. Joo-hyuk’s label confirmed that while the chat was real, it was out of context with the situation being resolved in 2012. While netizens are using the chat to drag Nam Joo-hyuk, further investigation shows that he in fact stopped the bullying.

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Chat reveals Nam Joo-hyuk stopped the bullying

Industry insider Lee Jin-ho who has investigated celebrity cases in the past dug up the chats that the third victim claimed involved bullying and sexual harassment. The reporter explained the context which had SOOP done so would have quieted the matter. The screenshots reveal that the first half of the third victim’s claims were true with the male students in the group chat insulting her. But Jin-ho pointed out, “Just 10 minutes after the chat was created, Nam Joo-hyuk was seen saying, 'There's mad Katalk (messages)' and then he says 'what's with the **** fuss in a chat full of guys?' and 'leave you shi*s.”

Joo-hyuk finally sends, “Let’s make another chatroom,” and makes everyone leave the group chat. The chat shows that not only did Nam Joo-hyuk not send insults to the victim but also stopped the group chat, falling in line with his teachers’ testimonies that he would always mediate and stop fights in class. However, one of the students in the group chat happens to be one of the 18 students who defended Joo-hyuk in the Dispatch investigation which has led to netizens questioning the other 17 witnesses.

More classmates defend actor

While fans did not trust Dispatch, another huge Korean media outlet, SBS interviewed more classmates who claimed Nam Joo-hyuk was against the bully ‘A’ who did steal a teacher’s phone and in turn corroborated the 18 witnesses’ statements who had said the same thing. Another alleged classmate added that the actor often tried to stop ‘A’. He shared that ‘A’ even hit Joo-hyuk and they got in a fight and if the actor had been in the wrong the teachers would have taken action. A former classmate also shared the context of the third alleged victim by stating that the female student had been harsh to a student ‘K’. The group chat was made to criticize her but Joo-hyuk was not part of it.

‘This is so strange’

Fans are finding the whole ordeal suspicious as Joo-hyuk joking with co-star Bae Suzy and photos of him allegedly drinking as a minor have also been linked with him being a bully. One user wondered, “This is so strange. He probably refused a “favor” from a higher up in the industry and they’re trying to destroy him. He didn’t bully anybody now they’re trying to look into his friends past to connect him to something. Anything that could bring him down.” Another user asked, “The real question is who did he offended that now they're finding faults with him out of a sudden.”

One user tweeted, “He didn’t even make the chat room. He actually closed the chat room to stop his friends from harassing that girl aka Person A. He shouldn’t be cancelled over what his friends’ did.” With trolls having tried to cancel Korean celebrities with fake rumors in the past, one user posted, “Sorry every month someone is accusing an actor/idol of bullying. I refused to believe these accusation anymore without proof.  I will not cancel anyone from these rumors.” A user shared, “Them falsely accusing him of stuff he never did is crazy.”

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