Updates on actor Jo Byung Gyu, his accusers, and his 'scandal'

There have been new developments in Jo Byung Gyu’s bullying scandal.

In February, The Uncanny Counter actor was accused of verbally abusing his classmates when he was a high school student in New Zealand.

His agency HB Entertainment denied the claims, after which the accuser apologized and deleted their post. However, someone else came forward with stories of how Byung Gyu bullied him when they were in elementary and middle school, which the actor also denied.

HB Entertainment then announced they would pursue legal action against anyone spreading lies about their artists. But instead of retracting their statements, the accuser went on the offensive, claiming that Byung Gyu’s agency threatened him.

Eventually, the actor himself addressed the issue in an impassioned post on his personal Instagram. He denied the accuser’s claims and opened up about how this issue had affected his career and mental health.

However, in a somewhat surprising turn of events, he recently received an apology letter from one of his accusers. His agency responded to the letter in a statement that said, “We took legal action against those who wrote posts that sparked a baseless bullying controversy. During a police investigation, the accuser admitted his post was a fabrication, then sent us an apology letter.”

HB Entertainment added that Byung Gyu cooperated fully with the police by submitting his school records to them, along with multiple testimonies from fellow alumni and former teachers. Regarding the other accusation, which was written anonymously by someone residing outside South Korea, the agency revealed they will initiate legal proceedings once the accuser enters the country.

However, the person who accused Byung Gyu of bullying responded to HB Entertainment with his own statement, in which he denied apologizing to anyone.

The agency responded by posting screenshots of the accuser’s apology, along with a statement of their own that read, “The suspect, who said on Nate Pann that actor Jo Byung Gyu threatened them with a BB gun then took over the soccer field in elementary school, admitted his statement was false through an investigation by Bucheon Wonmi Police Station.”

HB Entertainment then shared the following screenshot.

What follows is an English translation of the above.

The agency also mentioned a second suspect. Referring to them as “Kim,” they said that this suspect said Byung Gyu attacked him with an umbrella while verbally abusing him. The suspect backed up his claims with a photo he stole from an acquaintance.

“Kim used the Facebook photo and acted as if he knew Byung Gyu, but Kim wasn’t even in the photo and never had any contact with the actor. Kim’s acquaintance contacted Byung Gyu’s legal representatives and delivered the following apology on the accuser’s behalf,” HB Entertainment wrote.

Here's the screenshot HB Entertainment shared.

Again, what follows is an English translation of the above.

The rest of HB Entertainment’s statement is as follows:

Actor Jo Byung Gyu’s recent announcement that he received an apology was about the apology from the suspect of Bucheon Wonmi Police Station and is unrelated to an apology from Kim, the suspect of Gangnam Police Station.

However, Kim, who has nothing to do with media coverage of the apology, argued that they never wrote an apology nor appealed for leniency. Kim’s acquaintance communicated with Kim and sent an apology and voluntarily deleted the posts containing false information.

However, Kim’s attitude suddenly changed when the agency told him that leniency would be difficult. He has continued defaming the actor and the agency with false information.

So we filed a complaint with the Gangnam Police Station against each of Kim’s posts. He was designated as a suspect and not a testifier. The case number is 2021Hyungjae0041**. Currently, we’ve requested to regulate the entry of criminals until we can determine the suspect’s whereabouts.

We didn’t respond to Kim’s public verification request because there was no value or reason to do so, but since they are repeatedly spreading false information and undermining the reputation and credibility of the actor and agency, we will reply as follows.

The next part of HB Entertainment’s statement addressed Kim directly. The agency advised Kim to cooperate with the authorities while responding to his claims.

Instead of insisting on unrealistic public verification, Kim should enter the country as soon as possible to begin legal proceedings.

1. ‘W’ has nothing to do with the agency. The claim that ‘W’ is an agency employee is a groundless fact. Please check with ‘W’ directly for claims about W’ and stop making false claims about the agency immediately.

2. Your acquaintance contacted Byung Gyu’s legal representatives first, delivered an apology on your behalf, and asked for leniency.

3. You are a suspect in Gangnam Police Station case 2021Hyungjae0041** for violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (false information and timely defamation). You are designated as a suspect in all the Instagram posts that contained false information.

You are charged with spreading false information and timely defamation. You are designated as a suspect in the complaint, and there is no reason for the suspect to be designated as a testifier, who means a third party other than a suspect, so please stop making false claims.

Your request for public verification will be carried out through domestic judicial procedures, so stop disobeying the summons to participate in an investigation and stop the illegal acts immediately.

We will actively respond to all possible civil and criminal legal procedures against criminal acts that defame celebrities with false information that has not been confirmed in anonymous cyberspace.