Descendants of the Sun Actor Onew of Shinee issues apology on sexual harassment issue after 4 months

Descendants of the Sun Actor Onew of Shinee issues apology on sexual harassment issue after 4 months



Korean boy band SHINee's Onew has issued an apology almost four months after he was accused of sexual harassment.

Last August 12, a 20-year-old woman charged that Onew touched her inappropriately as she was dancing on stage in a club in Gangnam, Seoul.


The woman's boyfriend reported the incident to the police and Onew was arrested and booked without detention in the morning.

Onew underwent investigation for five hours but said he didn't remember anything because he was drunk.

SM Entertainment branded the incident as a misunderstanding.

On December 4, Onew shared the apology to the group’s website, however, some fans felt it was a little too late as the incident took place in August, and some felt that he should leave the group, claiming he’d damaged the quintet’s reputation. His message said: ‘Hello. This is Onew. ‘I am sincerely sorry for disappointing my supportive and loving fans with the bad news. While I have been on hiatus from activities for four months, I have been reflecting deeply on how much I must have disappointed all of you fans who have loved my lacking self, and I resented and blamed myself. ‘I worried for a long time about how to apologize and what words I should use. I felt so sorry that I was cautious even about writing anything, so I’m only finally posting this now, even though it’s so late. ‘The more love and attention I received, the more responsibly I should have acted in my private life as well, and so I am so sorry to have caused disappointment. ‘I want to say through this letter that I’m truly sorry to our members who have been working hard with me for over nine years, and I want to apologize once again to my parents and company staff who must have been surprised because of me. ‘I will keep on reflecting, and always be more strict with myself and try hard. I promise that in the future, both in public and private matters, I will truly do my best to be someone worthy of the name of the team SHINee. ‘From, Onew.’

However, despite the handwritten message, some fans are demanding he be removed from the group following the claims made against him.

Those who were not satisfied voiced their concerns on the DCInside SHINee gallery, saying: ‘We strongly demand the withdrawal of Onew for the smooth operation of SHINee’s activites and the survival of the group.’

SM Entertainment said, "The other side has admitted it's something that could occur and has dropped the charges as the misunderstanding has been cleared up."

Last week, fans vowed to boycott SM Entertainment's '2018 SM Artist Season Greetings' because Onew is in it. SM denied that Onew issued an apology because of the boycott.