Korean actor Lee Chul-woo of the drama “Lovely Runner” denied that he was a member of singer Jung Joon-young’s infamous group chat room where illegally filmed sex videos with women were uploaded.
Lee Chul-woo issued a statement after BBC released its documentary “Burning Sun: Exposing the secret K-pop chat groups” revisiting the Burning Sun club scandal of former Big Bang member Seungri and the KakaoTalk chat room messages and incidents of Jung Joon-young and former FT Island member Choi Jong-hoon.
In "Lovely Runner," Lee Chul-woo plays the role of Kim Hyung-gu, a member of the high school swimming club.
Lee Chul-woo in "Lovely Runner" (Instagram)
Since its release on May 19, the BBC documentary has garnered 1.34 million views and more than 6,500 comments on YouTube as of this writing.
The documentary also focused on the bravery of two Korean female journalists who exposed the Burning Sun scandal and chat room messages. The two journalists endured online harassment from fans and netizens.
On Nov. 29, 2019, Jung Joon-young and former FT Island member Choi Jong-hoon were convicted by the Seoul Central District Court for gang rape of women in two incidents in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province in January 2016 and Daegu in March 2016.
Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon (Screenshot from BBC documentary) 
Jung Joon-young, Seungri and Choi Jong-hoon (Screenshot from BBC documentary) 
Seungri and Jung Joon-young (Screenshot from BBC documentary)
Chat room messages of Jung Joon-young (Screenshot from BBC documentary) 
Jung Joon-young replying about having sex with women in Daegu (Screenshot from BBC documentary) 
Jung Joon-young's reply (Screenshot from BBC documentary)
The court also convicted Jung Joon Young for distributing illegally filmed videos of his sexual acts with women 11 times on KakaoTalk chat rooms in 2015.
The Seoul Central District Court originally sentenced Jung Joon-young to six years in prison and Choi Jong-hoon to five years for the rape.
The two appealed their convictions and on May 12, 2020, the Seoul High Court reduced Jung Joon-young’s sentence from six to five years, and Choi Jong-hoon from five to two and a half years. South Korea’s Supreme Court upheld their reduced jail terms.
On Nov. 29, 2019, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Jung Joon-young to six years in prison and former FT Island member Choi Jong-hoon to five years for raping women.
The two celebrities were found guilty of intoxicating women and raping them in two incidents in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province in January 2016 and Daegu in March 2016.
The court also convicted Jung Joon Young for distributing illegally filmed videos of his sexual acts with women 11 times on KakaoTalk chat rooms in 2015.
Choi Jong-hoon was released from prison on Nov. 8, 2021 after serving two and a half years.
Jung Joon-young was released from the Mokpo Prison in South Jeolla Province in South Korea on March 19 this year after serving his sentence.
Statement
In an Instagram post on May 20, Lee Chul-woo denied that he was a member of Jung Joon-young’s group chat room.
“As stated through the company at the time, I would like to reiterate that I was not included in the chat room,” he said.
He added, “As an unfortunate incident, the chat room that I am mentioned in was a 'program chat room' to share schedules and content needed for filming when I appeared on the JTBC entertainment show 'Hitmaker' in 2016. Not only did I not share personal stories other than content related to the program, but the chat room disappeared after the program ended.”
“Hitmaker” was a 2016 variety show on channel JTBC that starred Kangin, Jung Joon-young, Jung Jin-woon and Lee Chul-woo.
"Hitmaker" stars (from left) Kangin, Jung Jin-woon, Jung Joon-young, and Lee Chul-woo (JTBC)
“Not only I, but my family and acquaintances are suffering from the false information and malicious comments that have been going on for several years. We earnestly ask you to refrain from making any more reckless speculations and speculations, and we will take strong action against malicious comments and the spread of false information in the future,” said Lee Chul-woo.
In April 2019 during the Burning Sun and Jung Joon-young controversies, the stars of “Hitmaker” were being linked to the chat room, which they denied.
At the time, Lee Chul--woo's agency ESteem Entertainment announced in an official statement, "Regarding the suspicions that Lee Chul-woo is involved in Jung Joon-young's group chat room, which is currently being reported through some media, we would like to clearly inform you that Lee Chul-woo is not included in the chat room in question."
It added, "Lee Cheol-woo himself has never filmed or distributed any illegal video. Also, he has never been contacted by any relevant agency in this regard."