Jo Byeong Gyu's Agency Denies Further Allegations Of School Violence

Jo Byeong Gyu’s agency has denied additional accusations that the actor was a perpetrator of school violence.

On February 16, a post was uploaded to an online forum from someone claiming to be a victim of bullying from Jo Byeong Gyu while they were at school in New Zealand together. The next day, Jo Byeong Gyu’s agency reacted to the matter by requesting a police investigation into the post for spreading false rumors. Later on in the day, HB Entertainment revealed that the creator of the post had admitted with an apology that the post was false and had deleted the post.

On February 17, a different online user (known henceforth as “B”) wrote a post on an online community accusing Jo Byeong Gyu of being a delinquent and bully during elementary school and middle school. “B” claimed he lived in the same neighborhood as Jo Byeong Gyu before the actor went abroad.

“B” wrote, “When we were in the lower grades of elementary school, I was once riding my bicycle when he and his friends stopped me and tried to threaten me into lending them my bicycle. I denied because I knew he wouldn’t return it if I lent it to him, and he blindly shot a BB gun at me when I denied.

“Another day, I was playing soccer with my friends on the schoolyard when Jo Byeong Gyu and his crew took away our soccer ball and took over the field by force, saying they’d play soccer. I was one year younger than Jo Byeong Gyu, and his friends had bigger builds than me, so I had no choice but to play soccer somewhere else.”

“B” added, “It has been a long time since these things happened, so these are all of the major incidents I can remember. He would curse or habitually practice violence more often than that. I’ve been attacked or cursed at several times when I ran into him in the streets. I was Jo Byeong Gyu’s target simply because I was the younger brother of his female classmate whom he bullied.”

As evidence, “B” shared Jo Byeong Gyu’s graduation photo from elementary school and messages he exchanged with his sister about Jo Byeong Gyu’s past while “SKY Castle” was airing. “SKY Castle” was the drama through which Jo Byeong Gyu gained widespread fame.

Lastly, “B” expressed his wish for an apology and his willingness to go to court regarding the matter if necessary.

Following the post from “B,” another person (known henceforth as “C”) claiming to have attended the same elementary school and middle school as Jo Byeong Gyu uploaded a post in defense of the actor.

“C” explained, “I also went to the same elementary and middle school [as Jo Byeong Gyu], and although we weren’t close, we greeted each other when we passed by each other. There are a lot of people in the neighborhood who are cheering for his success. Most importantly, he transferred to our school in third grade.”

“C” continued, “A delinquent? That’s completely false. He was an energetic kid, and it’s true that he was often in the spotlight because he was popular since he was little, but he was never the type to do any misdeeds. He was often the target of jealousy because he was an actor, and the kids would even bully him.”

Regarding why they decided to speak up for Jo Byeong Gyu, “C” shared, “People can easily write a post anonymously, but to Jo Byeong Gyu, these kinds of posts destroy everything he has built up for 10 years. We all know Jo Byeong Gyu worked hard. Don’t destroy it, please.”

On February 18, a source from HB Entertainment stated to SpoTV News, “There is no change in our policy of strong legal action against the initial creator of the false rumor who asked for leniency as well as the additional person who spread the false rumor. We have already consulted with a lawyer in order to hold them responsible.” The agency added that the same would apply to those who leave malicious comments.

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