K-pop singer cleared of sexual violence accusations
By Ko Dong-hwan
Kang Dong-ho from "Produce 101: Season 2" on Mnet.
Prosecutors have dismissed sexual harassment allegations against boy band Nu'est member Kang Dong-ho, ending the months-long investigation that started with a mobile message sent to him by a person claiming to be the victim.
Pledis Entertainment, which manages the Jeju Island-born K-pop star, 23, said it had been told of the prosecutors' decision on Monday. The prosecutors said there was not enough evidence.
The self-claimed female victim sent Kang a series of mobile messages on KakaoTalk in June 2017. According to the messages, which were screen-captured and spread online, the person asked if he remembered “eight years ago when you sexually harassed me.” The person then demanded that he confess what he had done so she could “let it go peacefully because otherwise I keep getting angrier.”
The person also said online that Kang “sexually harassed me on Jeju Island inside a hagwon (private academy) van that we rode in together after classes.”
The person reported Kang to police, who sent the case to prosecutors in September.
Kang debuted with the band in 2012 and earned fame following his appearance on the Mnet TV music competition show “Produce 101: Season 2,” which ended in June 2017. He garnered many fans on his way to the final round, before he was voted off.
Pledis counter-sued, saying the sexual harassment rumor that was going viral online was “absolutely groundless” and the so-called victim had violated the laws on information communication network and information protection.
The scandal interfered with Kang's show business schedules. The band released a single in July following “Produce 101” but, after his father died the same month, Kang kept his public appearances to minimum ― except when he joined the band's new unit Nu'estW in September.
Reports said that Kang explained at a press conference how difficult his personal life had been.