Attorney Cho Ki-hyun, speaking on YouTube channel 'Beopmu Beopindaehan Jungang TV,' speculates alleged perpetrator is a private individual

Actor Cha Ye-ryun. [Photo by Yoon Byung-chan/yoon4698@heraldcorp.com]
Actor Cha Ye-ryun. [Photo by Yoon Byung-chan/yoon4698@heraldcorp.com]

A practicing attorney who handles school violence cases has suggested that actor Cha Ye-ryun, 41, may have belonged to a bully clique in the past — even as Cha has denied school violence allegations and signaled plans for legal action.

The attorney stressed that the assessment was a personal opinion, based on the fact that Cha has not filed a complaint or taken aggressive legal steps against the person who made the allegations public.

A video titled "Cha Ye-ryun school violence controversy — does going public automatically mean it's true? A lawyer examines the legal issues" was posted Thursday on the YouTube channel Beopmu Beopindaehan Jungang TV.

In the video, lead attorney Cho Ki-hyun went through the legal questions surrounding the controversy one by one, examining whether the accuser's posts were specific enough to identify Cha, the state of the evidence, and whether comments targeting Cha's husband, actor Ju Sang-wook, and their child could constitute defamation.

On the question of whether the posts were specific enough to identify Cha, Cho said the accuser's description — referencing Junggye Middle School, a person born in 1985, and an image as a good wife, good mother and good cook — narrowed the target down to Cha. "Online users immediately figured it out and flooded the comments section of Cha Ye-ryun's YouTube channel," he said. "Anyone looking at this would have to conclude that Cha Ye-ryun was specifically identified."

On the credibility of the allegations, Cho said there was no decisive evidence — only the accuser's own account. He added that additional claims appearing in comments could have come from people pretending to be former classmates out of dislike for Cha, or from anti-fans with no connection to the original accuser who simply wrote things out of animosity.

"There are many posts about celebrities motivated by envy and jealousy," Cho said. "There are real victims, but some people do this just to attract attention or to destroy someone, so it is hard to say whose account is true."

Regarding comments targeting Cha's husband Ju Sang-wook and their daughter, Cho explained that even if Cha's alleged school violence were proven, directing insults at the daughter or husband would constitute criminal insult. In the child's case, he added, charges of child abuse could also potentially apply.

Cho said the view was personal and based solely on publicly available information, but pointed to the specificity of the allegations — including references to Lotte World — and to the fact that Cha had not filed a complaint against the accuser. On that basis, he concluded: "I think Cha Ye-ryun was part of the bully clique, but I don't think she was the one who directly harassed this particular accuser."

Cho also speculated about the accuser's state of mind. "The accuser appears to have been a victim, but I suspect the actual perpetrator was someone else in the clique," Cho said. "That has become a source of deep resentment and anger, but going after a private individual rather than Cha Ye-ryun would be pointless — the statute of limitations has passed and nothing would come of it. Still, the pain from the school violence is so severe that seeing Cha brings it all back."

Cho also suggested that Cha's legal response had been restrained. "If Cha files a complaint, the investigation would inevitably bring to the surface the fact that she was part of the bully clique," he said.

Meanwhile, Cha's representatives issued an official statement Wednesday denying the school violence allegations, saying they would "thoroughly secure relevant materials and take responsible legal action against the malicious spread of false information and personal attacks," and would "take strong measures to prevent further harm from the spread of false information."


jshan@heraldcorp.com