Son Seok-koo has announced that he has taken legal action against netizens who have alleged that the actor had been a perpetrator school violence when he was younger.
On September 9, the 38-year-old took to Instagram to personally address the bullying allegations that have been made against him. Son’s agency SBD Entertainment had previously denied the accusations and announced plans to take legal action.
Son shared screenshots of an anonymous Twitter account from which the allegations first surfaced, before addressing the situation in a following post. “First, I would like to state that I wrote this myself of my own free will. It is not someone else’s opinion, so if you would take the time to read it, I would be grateful,” he wrote, as translated by Soompi.
“On August 31, there was a post claiming that I had perpetrated school violence on Twitter,” he said. “I will not give the satisfaction of even a response like ‘I did not do this’ to an anonymous post that showed no evidence and did not even clearly state any victims.”
“At the very least, I know what kind of background I grew up in, so before I move on to the main subject, I want to state here that I am not ashamed to stand before the parents who raised me,” asserted Son.
He went on to add that online spaces have been “polluted” by irresponsible anonymous posters. “As a result, when actual victims of assault and violence speak up, they can be treated like the boy who cried wolf,” he added.
Son then announced that he has taken legal action against the poster who made the allegations. “As of today (September 9), I have collected detailed evidence and submitted a complaint to the police,” the actor revealed. “It might take some time for the results to come out, but for those who can understand the scope of the problem, I hope that you will continue to monitor the situation.”
Elsewhere in his statement, Son also shared that he felt “dejected” by the number of articles that had been published about the allegations without verification. “There were articles and comments that contained criticism and ridicule, and I was dispirited by my interpersonal relationships turning suddenly awkward,” he wrote.