Actor sues rumormongers amid Choi Soon-sil scandal
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Park Hae-jin from tvN's "Cheese in the Trap" (2016)
By Ko Dong-hwan
Actor Park Hae-jin will sue rumormongers who said he is connected to Ko Young-tae, a close friend of Choi Soon-sil, the longtime confidant of President Park Geun-hye who is suspected of meddling in state affairs.
Park’s agency, Mountain Movement, said on Oct. 31 that it will act “without mercy” against cyberbullies and media outlets spreading the rumors. It said it will soon file a lawsuit after securing evidence, according to online media outlet The Fact.
The rumor started with a photo taken 14 years ago, in which Ko and Park posed with two other men. Those who spread the photo had said the four were employees of a “host bar” ― an adults-only salon where men provide services to women. The photo was recently circulated again after Ko began attracting attention amid the influence-peddling scandal, or so-called “Choi Soon-sil scandal.”
“Just because Park was in the photo with Ko, rumormongers began to add a lie to another lie that they were somehow closely acquainted,” Mountain Movement said. “The groundless rumor, added with malicious comments, has dealt blows to Park’s fans. Park had not known Ko well back then and neither imagined that Ko would later be involved in this scandal.”
Park Hae-jin, third from left, is rumored to have worked at a host bar with Ko Young-tae, far left. / Courtesy of Naver cafe
The agency said the photo was leaked online in 2011 and clarified that Park had no personal relationship with Ko and did not share any personal information.
Mountain Movement first reacted to the rumor on Oct. 28, on the actor’s fan club site. It said it noticed that Park’s name was being connected with Ko’s on web portals and internet community sites, which “seriously damaged Park’s image as an actor.”
Park, 33,
Ko, a former host-bar worker and a former member of the national saber team, is rumored to have been Choi’s “toy boy.” He is suspected of managing The Blue K and Widec Sports, two paper companies Choi set up allegedly to funnel money away from other scandal-ridden foundations. He was questioned at the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office on Monday.