Kuk Dong-ho, a cast member of the Netflix reality show "Solo Hell Season 4," has again denied school bullying allegations and taken legal action against a practicing attorney who raised the claims.
Law firm Pil-eun said Sunday it had filed a criminal complaint on Kuk's behalf, citing defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection through the spread of false information, as well as attempted coercion.
The firm said unverified allegations and baseless claims were spreading indiscriminately across online platforms and certain communities, causing serious harm to Kuk. It added that it would work to ensure the objective facts and the truth are established through the criminal investigation process.
The firm also said that while freedom of expression must be respected, it cannot extend to protecting acts that damage another person's reputation and personal rights through the spread of groundless falsehoods. It urged the public to refrain from spreading unverified information, making speculative accusations or disclosing personal details in ways that could constitute additional secondary harm.
The allegations surfaced in early May, when a practicing attorney identified only as A publicly named Kuk while describing bullying she said she had experienced during her school years. She alleged that Kuk, who had been the boyfriend of a peer identified as B, had participated in or turned a blind eye to harassment that B had subjected her to.
Kuk's side issued three separate statements flatly denying the allegations.
In those statements, Kuk said the claims made unilaterally by a specific individual were entirely without factual basis and that he had no connection to the incidents described. "No one's life should be destroyed by allegations raised without verification of the facts," he said.
He also denied ever having dated or socialized with B, and appealed for the public to "stop disclosing unverified information as if it were fact."
betterj@heraldcorp.com
