The Korea Herald

Actor speaks out about ‘Burning Sun’ scandal rumor

- By Kim Jae-heun (jaaykim@heraldcorp.com)

Go Joon-hee once again expressed feelings of unfairness and denied involvemen­t in the Burning Sun scandal that resurfaced after the BBC released a related documentar­y on May 19.

The actor, known for her roles in 2015 film “Intimate Enemies” and 2019 thriller TV series “Possessed,” on Tuesday appeared as a guest on the YouTube show “Don’t Forget Your Breakfast,” where she said, “I don’t even know where Burning Sun is and I have never been there.”

“I’ve been saying this for years, but no one listened. My explanatio­ns were all edited out on the TV shows where I came out and spoke about the rumors,” Go added.

The actor has been suspected of involvemen­t in the scandal surroundin­g the nightclub Burning Sun in Gangnam, Seoul. It implicated figures including Seungri from K-pop boy band Big Bang, Choi Jong-hoon from boy band FT Island and rock ballad singer Jung Joon-young, with allegation­s ranging from drug use and prostituti­on to police collusion.

At the time, online messenger conversati­ons between Seungri and associated individual­s were disclosed, where speculatio­n arose about the identity of a certain actor mentioned in the chat. It was speculated that the unrevealed identity was Go Joon-hee.

“A single photo taken with Seungri sparked the rumors. I went to a breast cancer campaign event for a magazine with him. He was from the same agency at the time and he asked me to take a selfie together, so we took one,” Go said. “I wasn’t following him on Instagram, so I didn’t realize he posted the photo.”

Go also expressed her disappoint­ment with her former agency, YG Entertainm­ent.

“I thought if the company clarified the situation it would end without trouble. But they left it unaddresse­d. For actors, their image is everything, so I wondered why they couldn’t publish even one article saying ‘This is not true.’ I left the company and hired a lawyer to explain it on my behalf,” Go said.

 ?? Big Hit Music ?? Jin of BTS salutes as he is discharged from the Army in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday.
Big Hit Music Jin of BTS salutes as he is discharged from the Army in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday.
 ?? YouTube screen capture ?? Go Joon-hee speaks about rumors involving her in the “Burning Sun” scandal, appearing on the YouTube show “Don’t Forget Your Breakfast” on Tuesday.
YouTube screen capture Go Joon-hee speaks about rumors involving her in the “Burning Sun” scandal, appearing on the YouTube show “Don’t Forget Your Breakfast” on Tuesday.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Korea, Republic