The star of “The World of the Married” Shim Eun Woo has submitted a personal apology regarding the recent allegations of bullying at school that were made against him.
Earlier this month, a person claiming to have been in middle school with Shim Eun Woo posted on an online community accusing the actress of bullying at school. His former classmate alleged that although he was not physically abused, he had been the victim of frequent social exclusion and psychological bullying, and that Shim Eun Woo had taken the lead in subjecting him to extreme emotional abuse.
Shim Eun Woo's agency initially issued a statement refuting the allegations, claiming that the actress's memory of the situation was unclear, but that she was a model student who "never made a mistake." The agency also stated that according to Shim Eun Woo's memory, one of his friends had a quarrel with the author of the post, and his group of friends didn't get along with the classmate after that.
However, the older sister of the classmate who wrote the post immediately made her own statement that contradicted the agency's claims, and she alleged that there were many witnesses who could support her brother's version of the incident.
On March 28, after meeting his former classmate in person, Shim Eun Woo posted a personal apology admitting his mistake and explaining his side of the story.
Shim Eun Woo's full statement is as follows:
“This is Shim Eun Woo. I am writing this with the hope of expressing my apologetic feelings to classmates who were hurt by my immaturity in the past.
Last month, when I came across a post that caused controversy, I immediately tried to contact the individual [who wrote the post], and when I managed to contact one of his family members, I told them that I wanted him to meet the individual in person to talk. However, as this matter received media attention, things started to snowball, and due to the rising emotions, I was unable to meet the individual [who wrote the post].
After that, I continued to think carefully [about the past] and reach out to my friends from then on in various ways to try to remember my memories from that time, but I can't clearly remember what happened to that individual in the question.
Thinking that the only thing left to do is listen to what the individual [who wrote the post] said, I made another request to meet with him, and on March 25th, we were able to have a meeting with my agency and the classmate's family. And I can hear the situation and feelings that classmate went through in middle school.
I found that because of the immature things I said to that classmate in our school days, he still has deep emotional scars that he shouldn't have experienced during his teenage years as a student. I realized that the words and actions I thoughtlessly directed towards someone when I was young could remain with that person for a long time as wounds, and I spent a lot of time worrying about the life I had lived up to now and the me I am currently. Even though it's late at night, I want to sincerely apologize at least now to that classmate.
In the future, as I live my life while making sure not to hurt others, I will continue to look back and work hard to become a better person endlessly. I'm sorry for worrying so many people. Finally, I also want to sincerely apologize to my co-stars and those who are involved with my current project. " (koreanarea.com)
