Kim Dong-wan of Shinhwa. Kyunghyang DB
Kim Dong-wan, a member of the group Shinhwa and an actor, has found himself mired in controversy day after day, cornered on all sides. After being slammed for publicly supporting MC Ding-dong, who is embroiled in an assault controversy, a tell-all by someone claiming a past connection has now surfaced, further widening the fallout.
On the 23rd, through his thread, Kim Dong-wan stated, “The content currently being circulated is a false claim that differs from the facts,” and added, “I will not comment on personal relationships, but if the spread of false information continues, I will take all civil and criminal legal action,” signaling a hard-line stance.
This hint at legal action is seen as a rebuttal to the expos posted online by A. A, who claimed to be a former manager of Kim Dong-wan, said, “It is the same as a few years ago and now. He drank and did live streams, fighting with fans; this time, I do not know whether he wanted to be a hero or whether he is in his right mind,” taking direct aim at Kim Dong-wan.
A in particular cited the recent issue of supporting MC Ding-dong, asking, “Do you cheer for an MC with a drunk-driving problem who assaulted a BJ, and block people who speak plainly?” A went on, “Do you remember calling me a sociopath? I hope you look at yourself first before judging others,” exposing past words and behavior by Kim Dong-wan and causing shock.
The incident began with a post Kim Dong-wan uploaded to his social media on the 21st. Along with a photo of MC Ding-dong, who had been sued on allegations of assaulting a female BJ, Kim posted the message, “Anyone willing to support Ding-dong for no reason?” and found himself at the center of controversy.
At the time, MC Ding-dong was facing public outrage, as footage of him grabbing the hair of a female BJ who mentioned his past drunk driving and hit-and-run record during a live broadcast was aired intact. Representatives for MC Ding-dong said, “There are distorted parts,” and announced legal action, but public opinion had already turned cold.
In this climate, proceeding with public support poured fuel on the fire. As criticism mounted, Kim apologized, saying, “It was an expression that failed to fully take the circumstances into account,” and deleted the post, but with successive exposs emerging, the controversy is expanding into a battle over the truth.
With Kim Dong-wan stressing “legal action without leniency” and burning his bridges, attention is on whether the conflict with A, who claims to be a former manager, will enter another phase of dueling exposs.
