Actresses suffer post-Burning Sun fallout
From left are actresses Go Joon-hee, Han Hyo-joo, Gim Go-eun and Jung Eun-chae. Korea Times file
Go Jun-hee sues rumormongers; three others deny drug-involved party
By Jung Hae-myoung
The Burning Sun scandal, which cut K-pop singer Seungri's career short, has been rekindled after an investigative TV report on Saturday raised a fresh allegation about an actress in her 30s.
According to the report, the unnamed actress took drugs at a drug-involved party at the nightclub on the day a man identified by his last name Kim was assaulted.
Several actresses took action amid the allegations. Actress Go Joon-hee filed a libel suit against 12 rumormongers who spread rumors about her regarding the Burning Sun scandal and Han Hyo-joo denied attending the party the SBS program brought to light.
Two others, Jung Eun-chae and Kim Ko-eun, also denied they were part of the drug-related party the SBS program raised.
Actress Go Joon-hee took a stern measure on Saturday. She filed a libel suit against internet users who raised and spread rumors about Go possibly being one of the unnamed actresses mentioned in former BIG BANG member Seungri's infamous group chat.
The action came weeks after she threatened to sue rumormongers for defamation. She denied rumors that she was the one mentioned in the group chat as “an actress in New York, therefore unavailable to provide sexual services for Seungri's overseas investors.”
“There will be no change in Go's no-mercy policy toward rumormongers and she will take every possible legal measure, including civil and criminal suits, against anyone who spreads groundless stories about her,” Go's attorney, from OhKims Law & Company, said in a statement.
The law firm said Go suffered enormous economic losses because the baseless rumors tarnished her image as an actress.
“Go had to cancel numerous contracts due to malicious and groundless rumors, and consequently suffered immense losses in her income as well as her career,” the statement read. It emphasized one's life should not be distorted due to anonymous internet users' rumors without evidence.
The actress went ahead with the legal action as rumors about her showed no signs of abating, despite her denials.
The rumors were raised because she and Seungri were both managed by YG in 2015 when Seungri shared the group chat with other members. Go was reportedly in New York at that time, too.
After the group chat was revealed, some internet users raised suspicions that Go might be the unnamed actress the group chat members referred to as “nuna,” or sister.
Some internet users posted messages on Go's Instagram account, asking if she is the one mentioned in Seungri's group chat. She responded to each and every post saying she is not.
Go's legal action coincides with SBS' investigative program “Unanswered Questions” which covers the Burning Sun scandal and sheds light on the systematic drug trade at the club.
Based on testimonies from unnamed sources, the program disclosed the clandestine inner circle members who were treated as VIPs at the club.
It also mentioned an after-dinner party involving an unnamed actress in her 30s and cosmetics company executives at club Burning Sun's VIP room.
According to an interview with a Burning Sun staff member, “There was a cosmetics brand company sponsoring Burning Sun, which reserved all 20 tables in the club's VIP area.”
“The actress hit some people in their 40s and 50s with the light stick that the club gives to the customers,” he said. “The actress was quite young, but she hit the people in their faces because she was excited to see them. Her eyes looked abnormal and bloodshot,” the interviewee added.
The cosmetics brand is known only by the initial J. Following the SBS report, actress Han Hyo-joo released a statement on Sunday and denied her involvement in the party.
In the statement, her agency BH Entertainment said it is true that Han worked as a model for the company but that she has never been to Burning Sun nightclub. BH warned of legal action against those who spread baseless rumors about her.
Many worried the allegations related to the Burning Sun scandal could lead to the victimization of other innocent actresses.
The “Unanswered Questions” documentary also suggested a list of celebrities who took drugs with Hwang Ha-na and Park Yu-chun, both of whom were arrested for drug abuse.
The show reported on one of the main distributors, who was hired to provide drugs for VIPs, and allegations against multiple celebrities who took drugs in the club.