Park Hae-jin to take measures against malicious rumors

Park Hae-jin

Actor Park Hae-jin plans to take strong measures against rumors involving his relationship with Ko Young-tae, a close friend of Choi Soon-sil, who is suspected of meddling in state affairs as President Park Geun-hye's confidant.

"Park Hae-jin's name is continuously being exposed next to the name Ko Young-tae on web portals and internet community websites since Thursday," his agency Mountain Movement said Friday on Park's fan club website, adding that this has "seriously damaged Park's image as an actor."

The agency added that it will "take strong measures against posts that carry groundless false information."

At the moment, a picture of Ko and three other men, one of which is identified as Park, is being circulated online. The picture was taken 14 years ago. Netizens suspect there is a personal connection between Ko and Park, casting doubts about his past. Ko is known to have worked in a "host bar" where men provide services to women. There is circumstantial evidence that Ko met Choi at the host bar and has since been in a close relationship with the President's confidant, benefiting from her relationship with the President.

"The picture was coincidentally taken at a bar in Busan before Park's debut as an actor and Park did not know the person in the photo was Ko until encountering news about it recently," Park's agency said in its statement. "There were about 15 people at the bar at the time and they did not all know each other."

Claiming the rumor is nonsensical and malicious and has nothing to do with the picture itself, the agency said it will "swiftly take stern measures against any false information, rumors or comments and postings related to Park as it has seriously damaged his reputation and caused him psychological pain."