Kim Dong Hee Apologizes In Response To Reports Of School Bullying In Elementary School

Following reports that Kim Dong Hee admitted to allegations of school bullying, the actor issued an apology through his agency NPIO Entertainment.

Last February, an anonymous person uploaded a post on an online community titled “Actor Kim Dong Hee born in 1999 was a school violence perpetrator.” The post states, “I really hate seeing him proudly having a career as a celebrity and receiving love from people when his daily life involved hitting and bullying people.” The writer of the online post also included testimonies from people who graduated from the same school and added Kim Dong Hee’s graduation picture as evidence.

Another netizen said, “Kim Dong Hee hung an E-cigarette around his neck or kept it in the pocket of his school uniform, and he smoked inside the classroom.” They added, “He slapped the face of a fellow student who has a disability by playing games to their disadvantage, and he made people who were pushovers massage him.”

In December, Kim Dong Hee’s lawyer Jang Hyun Woo said in an official statement that the actor has been found innocent of all allegations of school violence.

On January 13, Kim Dong Hee released the following statement:

Hello, this is Kim Dong Hee.

I would like to tell you my position on the issue reported yesterday.

When I was in the fifth grade of elementary school, I got into an argument with my classmate in the classroom, and it eventually turned into a fight. [Afterward], I got punished by my teacher. When my mother heard the news, she scolded me a lot and took me to that classmate’s house where I apologized to him and his mother.

Later on, not only did we attend tutoring classes together, but I also ate dinner with him and his family. We spent a lot of time together without any problems, so I thought they had forgiven me.

I didn’t know that I was the only one who had thought that. I didn’t realize that they were still hurt by it.

After the post was uploaded last year, I wanted to apologize to my friend immediately, but I couldn’t muster up the courage because I was afraid that everything I didn’t do would be accepted as the truth and cause another misunderstanding. I wanted to correct what wasn’t true, and it has already been a year since then.

Due to my careless judgements and thoughts when I was little, I don’t think I deeply understood how he felt. I sincerely apologize for the pain I caused, and I want us to work things out.

Also, I deeply regret and apologize to those who were hurt by my immature words and actions when I was young.

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