On Oct 30th, Cha Ye-ryun’s agency, HB Entertainment, addressed the recently surfaced school bullying allegations, stating that they were “completely unfounded” following an internal confirmation.
The controversy began on Oct 29th, when a post titled “Please let the 1985-born actress accused of school bullying stop working” appeared on an online community.
The author, identified as A, claimed to have suffered repeated bullying and physical abuse during her school years at Junggye Middle School in Seoul at the hands of an actress identified as C.
In particular, the author alleged, “She mainly slapped me across the face, causing my eardrum to rupture and my cheek to swell badly.” A also claimed, “Because of that person, I am still seeing a psychiatrist and taking medication. I continue to live with depression and anxiety.”
Although A did not reveal the actress’s real name, some internet users identified Cha Ye-ryun based on the actress’s birth year and school background, causing the controversy to spread.
Despite the agency’s immediate denial, online reactions have been divided.
Comments on related news articles included further allegations, with some users writing, “People who went to school with her or lived in the neighborhood seemed to be terrified of her,” “A former classmate from the same school posted about this several years ago, didn’t they?” and “There wasn’t just one victim.”
Others called for caution, commenting, “We’ll have to wait and see whether the allegations are actually unfounded.” However, the claims about previous accusations and former classmates mentioned in these comments have not been independently verified.
The controversy has taken another turn following claims that comments asking Cha Ye-ryun to address the school bullying allegations were deleted from her YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, Cha Ye-ryun married actor Joo Sang-wook in 2017, and the couple have a daughter together. She has recently been sharing cooking videos and glimpses of her family life through her YouTube channel, “Cha Jang-geum Cha Ye-ryun.”
Sources: Naver