Actor's confession of sexual harassment backfires

By Park Jin-hai

Actor Choi Il-hwa

With the Korean cultural community bogged down in the #MeToo movement, veteran actor Choi Il-hwa admitted to allegations of sexual harassment made against him.

He confessed, “I sincerely apologize. If there is anything, no matter how small, related to me I will come forward and accept the sins. I just have the heart of a sinner,” during an interview with local media, where he admitted his wrongdoings of the past.

Choi added that although he wanted to apologize then, he was too afraid to do so. “Although it is belated, I gathered the courage to confess because I didn’t want to avoid it any longer.”

However, his confession backfired Monday, when a former actress accused him of raping her when she was 24.

Raising the possibility that Choi may have only confessed because he knew his name would appear among the perpetrators on the fast rising #MeToo list in Korea, the woman said, “I was in a rage hearing him confessing his acts as if they were lesser sexual harassment. It was definitely rape with me,” said the women not revealing her name to Herald Business.

She said Choi raped her right after she was cast in a leading role in a play 25 years ago. “He pulled me (trying to rape me again) a few days later and I screamed in protest. Then he hit me in the face with his fist so hard that I collapsed,” she said. Now the mother of a 24-year-old daughter, she said gave up her acting career in shock, for which she feels great regret.

In response, Choi apologized again and said he will leave acting completely. Not only will he leave an upcoming drama, MBC’s “Hold Me Tight,” Choi will be removed from the board of directors of the Korean Actors Association as well as from Sejong University’s academic advisory board to which he was recently appointed.