Actor Cho Jin-woong of ‘No Way Out’, Photo courtesy | Yonhap News
As actor Cho Jin-woong has acknowledged that he was a juvenile offender in the past, shocking the public, his agency Saram Entertainment is drawing even harsher criticism for a statement it took more than half a day to release, denounced as cowardly.
Saram Entertainment, via a press release around 9:30 p.m. on the 5th, acknowledged a report that Cho Jin-woong had been a juvenile offender who committed serious crimes in the past, saying, “After checking with Cho Jin-woong, we confirmed that there were actions he did wrong when he was a minor.”
Actor Cho Jin-woong, Photo courtesy | Content Wavve
It continued, “However, this is based on facts that have been confirmed in part, and given that more than 30 years have passed, it is difficult to fully grasp the circumstances, and since the related legal procedures have already concluded, there are limits,” while emphasizing, “We make it clear that this is unrelated to acts involving sexual assault.”
However, the statement instead backfired. According to an earlier report by Dispatch, Cho Jin-woong and his group allegedly stole at least three parked cars and were implicated in sexual assault, and he reportedly stood criminal trial in his second year of high school on charges of robbery and rape under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes. Critics say it is incomprehensible to minimize these serious crimes by only acknowledging them as “wrongful actions when he was a minor,” to claim that “with more than 30 years having passed it is difficult to ascertain the details and the related legal procedures have concluded,” while at the same time offering a selective denial that “it is unrelated to acts involving sexual assault.”
There is also criticism that, regarding reports that after becoming an adult he assaulted a theater troupe member during his unknown-actor days and received a fine for assault, and that his license was revoked for drunk driving while filming the movie ‘Once Upon a Time in High School,’ the agency tried to gloss over the matter without stating the exact charges, saying only, “There were also moments after he became an adult when his poor judgment caused concern, which the actor takes very seriously and deeply reflects upon.”
Poster for tvN ‘Signal’.
Meanwhile, the final sentence that pleaded, “We earnestly ask that you generously understand the actor’s sincerity in having used his father’s name as a stage name, which did not aim to conceal the past but sprang from a resolve to remind himself and become a better person,” is being taken by online communities as sounding like a plea for public leniency rather than retirement or self-restraint, further intensifying debate.
As a result, comments on old posts about Cho Jin-woong and articles suspected of relating to his criminal history are being dug up. A post from 2012 titled ‘Saw a Strange Comment While Reading a Cho Jin-woong Article’ contained the cryptic line, ‘What would Cho Won-jun (Cho Jin-woong’s real name)'s high school classmates think if they saw this post? What is the hidden meaning of this? It may be in the past, but people in Bundang seem to keep their mouths shut. Anyway, he seems good at acting. Where did he learn that dialect?’ In 2018, when a comment appeared on another post about Cho Jin-woong saying, ‘He attended Seohyun High, committed robbery in a group with classmates, did time, and returned the following year,’ another user replied, ‘How did you know that? But to be exact, it was not a return the following year. He passed the high-school equivalency exam and entered Kyungsung University as the class of 96. Not many people know that; are you perhaps Seohyun Class 3?’ Another post read, ‘Won-jun, why did you guys drink together and set fire to an apartment wall. I wonder if you remember that I bailed you out. Still, you seem to be the most successful among them, which is pleasing,’ drawing attention.
In addition, items presumed to be articles about the crimes Cho Jin-woong committed at the time are resurfacing, further fanning the controversy.
Meanwhile, Cho Jin-woong graduated from the Department of Theater and Film at Kyungsung University in Busan and began acting on the stage, entering the film industry with ‘Once Upon a Time in High School’ in 2004. He has worked actively in lead and supporting roles in films such as ‘A Dirty Carnival’ (2006), ‘Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time’ (2012), ‘Roaring Currents’ (2014), and ‘Believer’ (2018).
Cho Jin-woong also appeared in tvN’s 2016 drama ‘Signal,’ gaining great popularity. The follow-up work ‘Second Signal,’ which reunites the main cast, is set to be released next year as a project commemorating tvN’s 20th anniversary.
