This case sounds a lot like the allegations against Jo Byung Kyu and both young actors got their big break in Sky Castle together to boot. Rising K-actor Kim Dong Hee, who had a major male supporting role in Itaewon Class and was the male lead in Extracurricular, was accusing last year in 2021 of bullying by a former elementary school classmate. He was alleged to have verbally and physically abused the student including threats with a scissors and box cutter. His side sued the accuser for defamation and the whole case went to the police for investigation. Last month his agency claimed that Kim Dong Hee was exonerated but this week a Korean newspaper reviewed the police file in detail and revealed the investigation was the opposite. In police questioning, Kim Dong Hee admitted he did bully the student in elementary school with verbal abuse and kicking/pushing the child in the chest, but said the student exaggerated and made up the other more serious physical threats. The principal of the student gave testimony that the incident did happen and that Kim Dong Hee’s mom and Kim Dong Hee went to the student’s house to personally apologize at that time. The defamation lawsuit against the student accuser has also been resolved with the finding the student did not defame Kim Dong Hee. There are serious enough accusations and with police investigation and findings released now that it will be difficult for Kim Dong Hee to continue his acting rise for the time being if ever at all.
I hope this doesn’t halt his career. It seems really unfair that there are actors who are known to be horrible/criminal now, yet get away with it, when people are having their pasts dragged up and held against them. Not saying what he did is right, but he was young and people can change as they grow up and mature. It also sounds like the situation was handled back then so it’s sad it’s been dragged up.
I really don’t care if this halts his career. It doesn’t take much to be a decent human being, even when you are just a dumb kid. Bullying is never okay and creates such horrible psychological hurt throughout a person’s life.
That being said, as you stated, it seems like everything was settled in the past when his mom took him to the victim’s house to apologize. I get that an apology isn’t enough to erase the actions, but I’m not sure what the victim expected the outcome to be by bringing it back up so many years later ?
Bullying is despicable. I don’t know who this guy is but I hope he really has grown into a better person. However, I agree that the victim should not have brought up this incident publicly when it had already been handled in the past during his school days. Unless he continued to bully him afterwards, the issue should’ve been buried and forgiven when he and his mom went to personally apologise back then. I know it must suck majorly to see your former bully get famous, but if he sincerely asked for forgiveness then you’re only hurting yourself by holding onto the grudge and it’ll only make you bitter.
….I’d say suing the accuser for daring to speak of the past bullying counts as a second round of bullying by Kim Dong Hee – this time as an adult so none of the “boohoo he was just a kid!” excuses apply. And neither does ‘his agency made him do it!’
Koala is right that he could have had a chance of returning to the industry of he’d owned up cleanly and apologised. But he chose to drag the victim through the mud and dug his own grave as a result (and why is the victim expected to keep quiet again? He had every right to speak).
Can AN INCIDENT be classified as bully? Without belittling the seriousness of bully, there’s still a need to differentiate between “kids being kids” and bully. I think it depends on the intent and motive of the action. Further, IMO, holding a grudge and use it to drag people down is just as bad.
I hope when your spouse punched you once, you’d say that was an incident and not spousal abuse ?.
Everyone has different bottom line even kids.
@Nara – agree 100%.
Calm tf down nara. Be less of a weirdo to people bringing up differing views online
Need not be overly sensitive here. I’m not talking about spouse abuse. Read the article properly, it was an incident and he had gone to the boy’s house to personally apologise. My comment was related to this particular article, not on the broad subject of abuse. Dunno what had happened to you, sincerely hope that your spouse never punch you AT ALL.
Pushing someone and kicking his chest with your leg is an incident, sure, but it’s not an accident.
If he owned up to being a major dipshit at 12 years old in 6th grade I think this would have blown over. K-netizens can gradually accept a “I was wrong but I have changed” narrative.
Denying it all, suing the accuser for defamation, and then admitting to some of the allegations after more evidence was produced is what may be the nail in the coffin.
Punching and kicking a classmate in the chest is not normal “kids being kids” behaviour, sorry to burst your bubble.
And saying sorry doesn’t mean you’re entitled to have the victim forgive you and never speak of it again. It just means you feel remorse! Which apparently Kim Dong Hee didn’t, if he turned around and sued his victim for daring to speak of it publicly. I have the same standard for him as I did for my former fave, actor Ji Soo ie I’m quite happy to never see him as an actor ever again since I don’t support bullies (or rapists). Women in the kdrama world have been cancelled for much less serious things!
He got his career ruined over something that happened in 5th grade, should just tell the truth in the first place instead of trying to deny it at first
Can we not blame the victim here? He did this to someone with a disability and even after that his agency had audacity to refute the allegation when it was true all along. Kicking someone on the chest with foot is definitely not just kids being a kid.
No it wasn’t roughhousing that got out of hand. But it was literally two kids. I’ve never seen one thing this dude’s been in, but even I can see taking down someone’s career for what he did in elementary school is a bit much. If he lied to his agency, it’s all on him because that was not handled well. But this only seems to happen to celebrities. Some rich dentist was a pill back in the day, no one gives a darn so the whole outing of bullies is very selective.
Yeah I get that what he did was awful but wanting him to pay for it with his career when it happened on the 5th grade????? AND he already apologised back then?? I think the suing and mismanagement might have been his agency’s decision but who knows
They badly handled this.
They were both kids, he could have said the truth about it.
It doesn’t make sense to loose his career for something you did as a kid. I don’t understand why the person had to talk about it again.
I’m baffled that the people in the comments don’t know how SEVERE is school bullying in Korea, I really encourage you all to make a search on google or Naver about the latest news related to bullying cases right now.