Actor Ji Soo’s school violence exposers were cleared of defamation charges….Civil suit for damages
Actor Ji Soo sued some of those who claimed to have suffered school violence from him in the past for defamation. However, those who were sued were cleared of charges.
On Jan 17th, lawyer Kim Ga Ram of the law firm Jihyuck told OSEN, “Earlier, Ji Soo sued our client (school violence victim A) for violating the Act on encouragement of use of information network system and information protection (defamation). Our client was not indicted. Regarding the reason for the non-prosecution, it is accurately stated that the comments written by our client cannot be considered false information.“
In March 2021, netizen B surprised many people by revealing on an online community, “Actor Ji Soo is a school violence perpetrator. Kim Ji Soo is on TV, pretending to be nice with that signature smile of his, but he is nothing more than a school violence perpetrator, a gangster and a bully.“
B continued, “At that time, Kim Ji Soo was bigger than other students his age. In 2007, when we were in 8th grade, he was the top delinquent of the school and committed numerous evil acts.” B stressed that Kim Ji Soo and his group of other delinquent friends committed more wrongdoings than everyone can imagine, including beating, insulting, stomping… Several netizens, including A, sympathized with B’s revelation by leaving comments that they were also bullied by Ji Soo.
As the controversy grew, Ji Soo posted on his personal SNS, “I would like to sincerely apologize to those who were hurt by me. I have absolutely no room for excuses for my actions in the past. They were unforgivable. I now beg forgiveness to those who were undoubtedly deeply hurt for a long time, seeing me acting, and I will reflect on the unforgivable actions of my past and repent.“
However, 4 months later, in July 2021, Ji Soo’s legal representative announced, “Our client has sued the initial accuser and the writers of other posts and comments regarding school violence for defamation. Recently, the court judged that there was enough reason to believe in the falsity of the posts and the damage suffered by our client, which led to a search and seizure warrant to be issued for the purpose of identifying the writers behind the school violence accusation posts. We inform you that the related investigation is currently ongoing.“
In fact, Ji Soo filed a criminal complaint against A and B. As a result of the investigation, the police decided not to send A’s case to the prosecution. However, Ji Soo’s side filed an objection and the case was handed over to the prosecution. The same result came out this time. Ji Soo’s side later applied for a ruling following the appeal.
Regarding this, lawyer Kim Ga Ram told OSEN, “There have been continuous non-prosecution, but Ji Soo’s side even applied for a ruling. However, the victims made all statements. Besides A and B, there are many other victims. It’s the result of writing fact confirmation letters and cooperating with the police’s investigation.“
Lawyer Kim Ga Ram added, “The police also decided not to send B’s case to the prosecution. The prosecution has ordered a supplementary investigation. We filed a civil suit for damages, but the prosecution’s investigation remains, so Ji Soo’s side continues to stick to their ‘groundless’ position.“
Meanwhile, as soon as allegations of school violence were revealed, Ji Soo dropped out of KBS 2TV’s “River Where the Moon Rises”, in which he was appearing at that time. He terminated his exclusive contract with his agency KeyEast and enlisted in October 2021. He is serving as a public service worker.
Source: Nate
