Cha Ye-ryun Swept Up in Allegations of 'Eardrum-Damaging School Bullying and Speaking Informally to a Caddie'... Tearful Defense From a 20-Year Acquaintance

[Financial News] As a series of character-related controversies, including school bullying and abuse of power, have been raised around actress Cha Ye-ryun, an acquaintance who says they have watched her closely for nearly 20 years has drawn attention by publicly voicing support and attesting to her usual character.
On the 11th, a long comment by acquaintance A appeared on a post on Cha Ye-ryun’s personal social media account. A described themself as “a salon owner who has known Ms. Cha Ye-ryun for 20 years.” Expressing deep concern over the various allegations and malicious comments recently directed at Cha Ye-ryun, A shared what they had seen of her firsthand.
A began by saying, “I find the negative comments posted below truly upsetting,” then defended her, saying, “She is more kindhearted than any actor I know and works hard.”
“Ms. Ye-ryun has always taken the initiative when it comes to doing good, and has maintained good relationships with on-site staff for a long time. I’m baffled that questions about her character have suddenly surfaced,” A said. “It is terribly harsh to cast stones at her entire life based on isolated incidents. I sincerely support Cha Ye-ryun as she is now.” A thus expressed deep faith in her.

The controversy surrounding Cha Ye-ryun began with a post alleging school bullying that appeared on an online community on the 28th and 29th of last month. The author claimed that, while attending middle school, they were repeatedly assaulted and bullied by an actress born in 1985, and that they suffered an injury when their eardrum was damaged after they were slapped on the cheek. The controversy grew after some internet users identified Cha Ye-ryun as the alleged perpetrator, citing her birth year and the school she attended.
Before the school-bullying allegations had even died down, additional claims of so-called “abuse of power” emerged, taking issue with her past conduct at a golf course. On the 3rd, the YouTube channel “Baek Eun-young’s Golden Time” covered a tip from a former caddie who claimed to have been in charge of Cha Ye-ryun’s golf rounds around 2012–2013. The tipster claimed that Cha Ye-ryun spoke informally to them throughout, but that her tone and attitude changed 180 degrees only when she spoke on the phone with people associated with a broadcast. However, these disclosures are only the tipsters’ one-sided claims; the objective facts have not been verified.

As unverified allegations continued to spread, the agency moved to take a hard line. In addition to its response immediately after the initial allegations were raised, Cha Ye-ryun’s agency, HB Entertainment, issued another official statement on the 4th, again categorically denying them and saying, “The school-bullying allegations that have been raised are entirely baseless.”
The agency also said, “We are thoroughly gathering relevant materials not only regarding the malicious spread of false information but also regarding indiscriminate personal attacks against the actress herself and her family.” It warned, “After a legal review, we will take firm and responsible legal action without any leniency.”
[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter