PETALING JAYA, March 29 — Korean actress Shim Eun-woo has apologised for emotionally abusing a former classmate to the point of making her switch schools.
Shim, who starred in the popular K-drama The World of the Married as a bartender struggling with an abusive boyfriend, was previously accused of bullying by a female acquaintance from middle school earlier this month.
The 28-year-old made an Instagram post yesterday admitting to the accusations and said she had met up with her ex-schoolmate to apologise.
Shim added that the media buzz generated by the accusations had initially made it difficult for her to meet face-to-face with the victim as she was feeling too “emotional.”
She also tried contacting her friends to piece together a recollection of what had happened between her and the victim as her memory was fuzzy.
“I thought that listening to the victim’s story would be the only way to find out what happened, so I asked another time for a meeting.
“Finally on March 25, I met the person with their family and my agency.
“I was able to hear their situation and feelings they had when they were in middle school,” wrote Shim, based on translations by Koreaboo.
After listening to her schoolmate’s experience, Shim realised how her actions had left a “deep scar” on the person.
She apologised to the victim for hurting her and promised to learn from the incident to become a better person.
“I realised that the words and action I made without any thought when I was young could make a long-lasting wound on the other person.
“I thought deeply about my past actions and present self, and I sincerely apologised to (the person).”
Earlier in March, an anonymous social media user who attended seventh grade with Shim accused the actress of treating her like an outcast at school.
The victim said there was no physical violence involved but that Shim’s emotional abuse was so severe that she was forced to transfer schools in ninth grade for her well-being.
Shim joins a slew of several other Korean celebrities caught up in bullying scandals this year.
In February, Itaewon Class actor Kim Dong-hee and Sky Castle actor Jo Byung-gyu found themselves facing bullying rumours, which they both denied.
That same month, girl group member Soojin of G-IDLE and Seventeen member Mingyu also spoke up to deny claims of harassment by their former schoolmates.
