K-actor Ji Soo Reportedly Meeting with Agencies Attempting Comeback Two Years After Bullying Scandal Led to Leaving Industry
Now this is a name and person I was not expecting to hear back in South Korean entertainment news. Former drama male lead actor Ji Soo is reportedly planning a comeback, industry insiders say he has been meeting with various agencies in recent weeks. When I say reportedly it means he’s trying, not that there is any interest or appetite in SK for his return. He was cancelled and left the industry over two years ago around February-March 2021 right when his male lead opposite Kim So Hyun sageuk drama River Where the Moon Rises premiered. He was accused of very severe allegations of school bullying, leading to firing from the drama and replaced by Na In Woo and also his agency KeyEast terminated his contract. He enlisted for the military thereafter with an apology and promise to leave the industry. He later issued a statement denying the specific bullying allegations but admitted there was some mutual conflict with classmates in school that may have led to misunderstandings and he has apologized personally to the alleged victim who reportedly has taken back the allegations and reconciled as a friend. So this attempted return to the industry is after Ji Soo has just finished his military service and is hopeful he can comeback. We shall see.
He must have a wealthy background… he isn’t even attractive!
Ji Soo and his legal team were also able to prove that the most damaging accusations of sexual misconduct were false, and the person who posted them was a liar and had never even met Ji Soo. They were pursuing legal action against other accusers, but not sure how that legal action resolved.
https://www.soompi.com/article/1478083wpp/ji-soos-legal-reps-share-update-on-lawsuit-against-sexual-assault-accusations-accuser-admits-to-lying
I’ve seen comments saying that the legal team was able to prove the other school bullying posts were false, but not sure where the commenters got their information about that. Anyway, now that Ji Soo has proof that some, if not all, of the accusations were false, as well as a resolution with the alleged victim, that may explain why he feels able to try to make a comeback.
I don’t mind him trying to make a comeback. He has a right to and so does the viewers and fans have a right to decide whether they can stomach him or not. I am not a fan of cancelling someone totally to be honest, if you are not acquitted and sent to prison (doesn’t mean you’re not guilty by the way) then you have a right to make a living and earn money, how much you make depends on your capabilities.
Please!!!! NO to bullies. It’s not about giving a chance to someone. I was made very miserable during my junior school years due to a bully. She was mean, made me do her homeworks and pretended to be an Angel in front of my mom. Nobody believed me when I said I was bullied. Due to her bullying, other students also joined and stabs me with pencils to make me do their work or tasks.
It was a horrible experience and it’s very painful to see a bully having success pretending to be model figure to the public. By supporting these fakers, we are validating them and sweeping their evil actions under the carpet.
These bullies are lucky coz they won’t be jailed or fined even though they caused mental, emotional and physical harm to others. What else do they want? Nobody is stopping them from having other careers.
They should stop having self entitlement that we owe it to them to let them be successful entertainers. We just don’t like watching bullies on screen. That’s all, so please just stay away.
1. By accepting him back to the entertainment industry, it’s like an affirmation that people can be bullies and only issued apologies after the revelations. So if the victim didn’t voice out, he would enjoy wealth and fame as a celebrity pretending to be kind, righteous….
2. If he was truly innocent, and it was just a misunderstanding as he claimed, why did he quit the industry back then?
3. Well if some people can tolerate bullies while they bash other stars faced with scandals and acquitted by court, then it’s double standard. Stars like Kim Sun Ho had people giving testimonies contradicting the accusation, yet some still bashed him. What makes Ji Soo so special that he deserves to be an A-List star? There are plenty of business opprtunities that he can do without making people watch him.
4. Bullies are really horrible people. I can never imagine how they could have such evil hearts and thoughts to make others miserable. It’s sickening. If they wanna be bullies, these are the consequences.
5. Don’t watch anything he’s in and go about your day like a normal person
I feel for you @REI, i would never understand how young people can be so cruel . I worked in a high school a long time ago and i used to protect the ones who were persecuted , as a little woman of 155 cm, it was difficult but i gained strenght to give them a taste of their own medecine . I was threatened by some highschoolers, they punctured the tires of my car ,… but i didn’t give up unlike some teachers who didn’t mind . Psychologists say that bullies are victims too of their surroundings ( family, friends,…) But for me it’s about empathy . Unfortunately, we are living in a society which lacks empathy .
@Cahill Exactly, I find that people are more and more lacking in empathy these days. Just look at that Rina person’s comment above you lol. She just told on herself that she doesn’t care about victims of bullying. Same with the commenters here saying they literally don’t care. Sad.
@Rei I’m sorry that happened to you! Bullying is HORRIBLE and can affect people for their whole lives. Hope you’re doing better now! Hugs
From what I read from Koala’s article, if he was truly innocent why did he apologize to the victim? And “reconcile” with the victim? And why did he “escape” to the military?
He should have insisted on his innocence back then.
I am confused, was he a bully or not? And anyway why must we give him a benefit of doubt when there’s potholes in the entire process?
Uh… because it’s bad PR to not apologize to someone who claims to be a bullying victim?
You are clearly unable to think rationally about this. Justice as a concept would totally fall apart without innocent until proven guilty – I’m glad you’re not a judge or lawyer (hopefully!)
I did not realised we need to have minds of Judge and lawyer to have a opinion. You have yours, others have theirs. I
Ah yes, Rina with her horrible takes again. Brainless idiot lol
@HL
😃 you are right on point ….
It’s not as if the Korean entertainment world lacks actors.
It’s up to the producers whether they wanna risk putting him on the shows. Looks like his backers and supporters love bullies
@Rei, I am keen to watch how the public will take to him but I am doubt he will get lead roles…I hope not. I hate bullys!!
SKorea is so unpredictable, if there are people who will take a chance on him, he may still have a acting career but I doubt he will get lead roles.
At this time I want chinese gov type of iron hand banning, he doesn’t deserve to be celebrity again, to try to be loved by public again. And looking at his agency statement, it was clear that he hasn’t repented at all
Yeah agree! If so innocent then prove it in the first place. If I were him, I drag the accusers to the court.
@Yuhyi
👍👍👍 C-ent won’t tolerate such acts. Bullies should not be allowed to reap millions and grace magazines and advertisements. Why should the industry endorse bullies? Why should people give a chance to bullies, setting an exemplary pathways or precedents for potential bullies to harm others?
See how scary the world is, with some people here supporting the bullies. Not surprising if the supporters are also bullies.
Did you not read “victim reportedly has taken back the allegations and reconciled him as a friend”?
It’s just the two of them, not yours. You don’t even know what happened between them.
The other side has made a decision, why are you deciding who to forgive and who not to forgive, who to give a chance and who not instead of him?
Yes, please return Ji Soo! Since SK are selected in who they allow screen time to like Lee Geung Young who was actually arrested:
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2023/12/398_279496.html
then Ji Soo should be given another chance.
if people can actually forgive Kim Seonho the bastard & actually gave him award for his boring performance, I think Jisoo deserve a second chance too.
if people can actually “forgive” Kim Seonho for his scandal & even awarded him for his lacklustre performance, I think Jisoo deserve a chance too.
Wow. Lots of hate on here.
I am looking forward to a possible return to the screen. I like his acting. The details I could find about the allegations of bullying( besides the sexual one that was disproved) seemed like a crappy thing to do. But did not seem as extreme. So I was hoping to hear more from the victim and how it affected him. But I think that teens doing stupid things should be given another chance. If he is still being a crappy person to others as an adult then I would stop supporting. But I don’t know anyone involved so 🤷🏼♀️
This article is very clearly biased and negative. I am looking forward to seeing Kim Ji Woo again. Any of you who have been bullied in your lives, I sympathize with you. However, is it right to accuse someone without evidence and based on negative feelings only, that might not even be related to that person, simply because the accused person is popular and will gain negative media attention from it? This whole “bullying” situation in the Korean entertainment industry is silly to me. If you seriously have a grievance against an actor or tv personality, bring it up in private and not on Twitter. That is just silly and immature.
SK are judgmental people 😤 scandal, anyone can accuse and 90% of the nation will believe it still living in the Joseon era? Geees, let him come back! If you don’t want to watch his drama or movie then DONT! But don’t run it on our faces who will Welcome him! That’s South Korean issues, so old thinking,! jisoo has still thousands of fans. We don’t judge if there is not one proof. And You REI, you’re so full of it’s are you perfect ? You must be so ugly that you hated an actor who has nothing to do with you . Leave Jisoo Alone! Get lost!
I love Ji Soo as an actor and entertainer, it gives me a feeling of comfort and joy to see him on the screen. I feel like he has a sincere personality, a deep sensibility and a joy for life, a playfulness that gives comfort. I find that Korean celebrities apologize so easily and with an overwhelming sense of guilt for whatever they are accused of. Overlooking the last 15-16 years of someone’s life and putting a tag on them for the rest of their life based on the assumption that what someone else said about them is true, and for a presumed behavior at the age of 13-14, is that Korean mob justice? It makes me wonder if most of the Korean public are teenagers. Because as an adult you can’t be this brutal. When I say adult, I don’t mean age-wise, I am referring to the level of understanding that one has reached.
Ji Soo apologized, but denied most of the allegations and he did take legal action immediately.
There is no proof that the accusations posted “online” are true. If you take into consideration that these accusations were posted at a time when a drama was aired starring Ji Soo, it’s easy to see that the intent of the accuser was to severely impact Ji Soo’s life, with no consideration for the rest of the actors, broadcast crew and drama viewers.
If kids become violent because of a violent environment, then the kids who experienced violence from other kids become violent adults (physically or psychologically), where is it going to end???
As the human species, shouldn’t we focus on how to help each other rather than how to punish each other? Can’t we talk more about what we can do to help kids navigate those challenging teenage years?
If you are so worried about people who have suffered bullying (I am one of them), why not try to make sure you don’t bully anyone in the slightest way (including celebrities).
This scandal only hurt a whole lot of people many years after the alleged incidents, not because of what Ji Soo did, but because of the way this person chose to deal with his frustration.
As a KDrama/movie fan, Ji Soo has only brought me joy. I really wish to see him act again, I feel that nothing good can come out of denying him to express his natural talent, which brought comfort to many people.
*correction* The scandal that took place in 2021 hurt a whole lot of people many years after the presumed incidents took place, mainly because the Korean public manifests like they are jurors of people they have never met and so easily dismiss a human being, encouraging retaliation and perpetuating psychological violence in their society, a so called mob justice. Why are people still so easily manipulated and so attracted to scandals???