Actor Jo Jin-woong is at the center of a fast-escalating controversy, with new allegations and counterclaims surfacing after he acknowledged past juvenile crimes and announced his retirement.
On December 8, Dispatch reported that Jo allegedly assaulted a rookie actor, identified as A, during a past cast-and-crew gathering for a film. According to the outlet, at a second-round karaoke after the dinner, Jo told A to sing; when A declined, saying, “I don’t know that song. I’m sorry,” Jo allegedly threw an ice bucket at him.
Actors B and C, as well as managers D and E, also claimed they had been assaulted by Jo.
Adding a twist, a post that shifted public sentiment surfaced a day earlier on an online community under the title “A junior’s account of Jo Jin-woong’s life in high school.” The poster shared a verification photo, said they had been in the same theater club as Jo, and wrote, “I want to jot down a few words about this senior who’s been in the news lately,” before continuing.
The writer recalled, “Our school was rough, with plenty of seniors who acted like gangsters. When we were rehearsing, third-year ‘iljin’ bullies would come in for no reason and beat up Won-jun hyung (Jo Jin-woong).” The post continued, “He was absolutely not an ‘iljin’ himself; if anything, he got hassled and just tried to get through school. I remember he was a year older than the rest of us in the same grade, and he took so many hits without fighting back.” The writer added, “If you only look at school life, he was closer to a school-violence victim,” further fueling debate.
The authenticity of the post has not been verified.
Meanwhile, it recently came to light that Jo had been involved in car theft and sexual assault during high school and, under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (as applied in 1994), faced criminal trial on a robbery-rape charge and was sent to a juvenile detention center. His agency, Saram Entertainment, said, “After checking with (Jo), we confirm there were wrongful acts in his underage years,” effectively acknowledging the juvenile-offender allegations. As backlash mounted, Jo declared, “I humbly accept all reprimands. As of today, I will suspend all activities and put a period on my career as an actor,” announcing his retirement.