A former agency employee who accused H.O.T. member and solo artist Jang Woo Hyuk of verbal and physical assault has been acquitted in the first trial.
According to reports on November 26th KST, the Seoul Western District Court (Criminal Division 9 Single Judge) ruled on the 29th of last month that A, who had been charged with defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act, was not guilty.
A first raised the allegations on June 10th, 2022, posting on an online community that Jang Woo Hyuk assaulted her twice. She claimed that in early 2014, during an overseas business trip, Jang struck the back of her head with a gloved fist while the two were in a taxi together. She also claimed that in 2020, at a broadcasting station, Jang hit her hand while she was helping attach his microphone before a performance and said “Ah, f**.”*
A stated, “He frequently insulted and degraded me, but I thought it was something I just had to endure,” adding that “some people around me even said that the only reason he didn’t hit me more was because I’m a woman.”
Jang denied all allegations, claiming they were groundless, and filed a defamation complaint. Prosecutors concluded that the assault and verbal abuse during the overseas trip were “factual,” while the alleged 2020 assault at the broadcasting station was “false,” and indicted A in May 2023.
During the investigation, Jang reportedly claimed that he was actually the one assaulted at the broadcasting station. He stated that he requested A’s help with adjusting his microphone, but she approached him and struck his hand hard enough to make a “tak” sound. He also claimed that the incident caused him to suffer from stage fright and PTSD.
However, testimonies regarding the alleged broadcasting-station assault were inconsistent. Jang’s manager, acquaintances, and a dance instructor testified in court that they saw A hit Jang. Yet their statements were not consistent. One witness told police that “A first pushed away both of Jang’s hands and then struck him with her right hand,” but testified in court that she “hit his right hand in a way that felt like pushing it aside.” Another acquaintance who claimed to have witnessed A hitting Jang was later found, through a recorded phone call from August 2021, to have reacted as though completely unaware of the incident.
The court also found Jang’s own testimony unreliable. Although he insisted he was struck hard enough to make a loud sound, there were no records of him reporting pain or injury at the time, and his account of where the assault happened was inconsistent. In a phone call with A, he said, “Didn’t you hit me in the waiting room?” but in court, he changed his statement and said it happened “in the hallway.”
During the trial, Jang’s past verbal abuse toward A was also revealed. He reportedly told her, “I’m doing a script reading and you’ve ruined my mood. You don’t belong here. You should be grateful for even being allowed in this place.” Several other agency staff members also testified that they had personally experienced or witnessed Jang verbally abusing or physically intimidating employees.
The court stated, “Considering the relationship between the company representative and the employee, it is difficult to believe that A would assault Jang without any reason. It is more natural to conclude that Jang, who held the superior position, became emotional and struck A.”
The court further noted, “Jang’s inconsistent statements regarding the location of the incident and the presence of witnesses cannot be dismissed as simple memory errors. There is room to believe that he was attempting to conceal his own actions and shift the blame onto A.”
Prosecutors have appealed the first-trial ruling.
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