Actor Cho Jin-woong faces allegations of violent juvenile crimes
Cho Jin-woong / Captured from JTBC's YouTube channel
Agency says it is ‘checking the facts’
Actor Cho Jin-woong, whose legal name is Cho Won-jun, is facing allegations that he committed serious crimes as a teenager.
On Friday, entertainment outlet Dispatch reported that Cho received juvenile protection measures and was sent to a juvenile detention center while in high school. The report said Cho faced a criminal trial in 1994, when he was a second-year student, on charges of robbery and rape under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
Citing an informant, Dispatch said Cho and a group of delinquent youths stole a car that had been left on the roadside with the engine running, then drove it without a license while committing multiple offenses. The informant alleged that “Cho Jin-woong’s group attempted sexual assault inside the stolen vehicle, and he was sent to a juvenile facility because of the incident, spending half of his third year of high school in correctional custody.”
The report also raised allegations that Cho continued to have run-ins with police even after starting his acting career as an adult. According to the informant, Cho was fined in 2003 for assaulting a fellow theater troupe member during his time as a stage actor, and after making his film debut with “Once Upon a Time in High School,” he allegedly had his driver’s license revoked for drunk driving.
Cho’s agency, Saram Entertainment, said it is “checking the facts” and declined further comment. If the allegations are confirmed, the fallout in the broadcasting industry is expected to be significant. Cho, who has often played righteous characters, began appearing Nov. 30 as a presenter on the SBS documentary program “Chasing Borderless Crime,” which follows the pursuit and arrest of criminal organizations.
His upcoming tvN drama “Second Signal,” slated for release next year, is also facing uncertainty. The series is a sequel to the 2016 hit “Signal." Cho plays a violent-crime detective.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.