Lee Seo Won charged with sexually harassing & threatening female celeb, gets removed from drama

[goshipgurl.livejournal.com]

Actor Lee Seo Won has been charged with sexual harassment and making threats with a weapon, and his agency Blossom Entertainment has responded with an apology.

On May 16, news outlet JoongAng Ilbo reported that the Seoul Gwangjin Police stated that they had charged Lee Seo Won on April 8 and investigated him, before sending his case to the prosecution with a recommendation of indictment. The police stated, “The victim was a female celebrity. We forwarded the case to the Seoul East District Prosecutors’ Office earlier this month.”

According to the police, while drinking with a female celebrity (referred to as “A”), Lee Seo Won had attempted to kiss her and make physical contact, and was rejected. When he continued to attempt to make physical contact, “A” called her boyfriend to ask for help. Lee Seo Won is said to have become angry and threatened her with a weapon.

The police stated to the news outlet, “Lee Seo Won was investigated in a very inebriated state. He swore at the police officer and shouted.”

After looking into the situation, Lee Seo Won’s agency has released the following statement:

“Hello. This is Blossom Entertainment.

“We sincerely apologize for causing concern to many people through the shameful incident related to actor Lee Seo Won. Firstly, we did not know about this situation before we received a request for confirmation from the media. After verifying with him in order to understand the exact truth, we learned that it was something that happened after he had drank alcohol at a private meeting with an acquaintance.

“There are no excuses to be made. We bow our heads to everyone and express our apologies. We are sorry.

“Currently, actor Lee Seo Won has recognized his error and is deeply reflecting about causing concern to the other party and many people due to his thoughtless and mistaken actions.

“We once again sincerely express our deep apologies to everyone, and we will sincerely take part in the upcoming investigation. We are sorry.”

Lee Seo Won is an actor that has appeared in dramas including “Uncontrollably Fond,” “Hospital Ship,” “The Liar and His Lover,” and more. He is a member of the cast of the upcoming drama “About Time.” He is also currently an MC of KBS’s “Music Bank.”


Drama “About Time” Announces Removal Of Lee Seo Won From Cast Following Sexual Harassment Charges

The tvN drama “About Time” has issued a statement following the news that actor Lee Seo Won has been charged with sexually harassing and threatening a female celebrity with a weapon.

According to a statement by the production team that was released on May 16, “About Time” has decided to remove Lee Seo Won from the cast and find a new actor to take on his role.

The full statement is as follows:

“The production crew of tvn’s ‘About Time’ received notice about the pertinent facts late this evening (Wednesday, May 16), and through internal discussions has decided on the withdrawal of Lee Seo Won.

“Lee Seo Won’s role in the drama was the director of a musical that the female lead appears in, and as it is a supporting role in a subplot that is separate from the lead characters’ story, it does not have a lot of screen time. However, despite it being a subplot, it is one of the many diverse stories within the drama, and therefore the whole story cannot be removed. Therefore, we will be replacing him with a different actor and re-filming.

“‘About Time’ began filming last February and so there is enough footage that has been set aside. Therefore, even though the relevant scenes will be re-filmed, it has been determined that there will be no setbacks in the broadcast schedule.

“The production crew will do our best in the future so that the drama production will be carried out amicably and we can provide viewers with a good drama.

“In addition, please note that the ‘About Time’ press conference scheduled for May 17 (Thursday) will go ahead as planned.”

Lee Seo Won is also currently an MC on the KBS music show “Music Bank.” The show has stated that they are in discussion following the news, and that they will issue a statement when it is prepared.


sources: soompi 1, 2, mydaily, joins, sports.mk, xsportnews, mydaily

Comments

[kukamine.livejournal.com]

He should go to jail but he's probably going to get a slap on the wrist for this
I just hope the media doesn't expose the female celebrity and I hope she doesn't get shit for this bc she has a bf and was drinking with someone else

[keytfelt.livejournal.com]

Ugh, sexual harassment and threatening with a weapon? Bye.

I'm glad the drama got rid of him, but they're definitely downplaying his role in this drama. From all I've seen, he was the second lead in a love square with the main couple and the second lead, not a separate subplot. Hopefully they're able to recast quickly and film because the drama premieres in 5 days. I'm assuming we won't see a lot of this character in the first two eps. They've apparently filmed 11/16 episodes so far, so they have a lot to change.

[ohlookshiny.livejournal.com]

mte. this is similar to the situation with my ahjussi and will take a toll on the production. this is so last minute that i guess that editing for the first few episodes is going to super awkward as they'll have to cut his scenes and i doubt they can recast and film that quickly. yikes tbh

[ohlookshiny.livejournal.com]

removing a piece of trash from the cast of a soon to be aired drama seems to be a regular thing in k-ent now.

disappointed but not surprised.gif

glad this bastard has been exposed. he better not get off lightly for this.

[pearlychoco.livejournal.com]

he needs to be removed from being an mc on music bank also, not just his drama

edit: well, my wish came true (https://www.soompi.com/2018/05/16/lee-seo-won-removed-music-bank-mc-position-following-sexual-harassment-charges/)

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

ew ... i hope those are his last days on music bank
imagine having human garbage everyday on tv 😵😵😵

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

music bank already fired him 👏👏👏

Actor and Music Bank emcee Lee Seo Won under investigation for sexual harassment. Music Bank will replace his position & operate with a special emcee system to partner up Laboum Solbin https://t.co/7kdOqg1jqn (https://t.co/7kdOqg1jqn) pic.twitter.com/ZDP56LXEL1 (https://t.co/ZDP56LXEL1)

— The Seoul Story (@theseoulstory) May 17, 2018 (https://twitter.com/theseoulstory/status/996927967480578048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

Cancel him, I don’t want him near any women

[burningleaf.livejournal.com]

By now I'm genuinely curious whether it's the choice of career and the concomitant power trip it sends them on or just their inherent sense of patriarchy and male entitlement that makes them feel so goddamn... entitled.

[lechuza-yoya.livejournal.com]

bye we dont need him, never comeback.

[catnipss88.livejournal.com]

god, all this time he's playing this innocent and naive image, bet there are others like him in this industry.

[hozrien.livejournal.com]

Bye.

[aures.livejournal.com]

you can replace someone in a drama, you can remove him from tv but you can never replace the moment in the victim's life, you can never remove what happened from her memories and that's much more important right now, i hope she will be able to come to terms with what happened, my heart goes out for her

[kori-ya.livejournal.com]

When drinking makes you an asshole, sexual predator and violent, DON'T DRINK. Also don't drink, when it's "only" one of those.

I'm glad they acknowledge what he did was shameful, agencies often dance around the subject. Having the police witness him being awful must have helped.

And of course he's "deeply reflecting"...
Threatening her with a weapon...Just how bad of a person are you inside?

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

Put his ass in jail, firing isn't enough
And those agency statement annoy me: don't just try to save your face

[ashdevilrun23.livejournal.com]

He was fired fast. Good.

[blck-ink.livejournal.com]

digusting! i hope she's okay

[nekobot.livejournal.com]

A freaking weapon! Get in the sea

[ty.livejournal.com]

This makes me so so sad.

[shawarmafordays.livejournal.com]

I'm really glad that they acted quick and he got fired. This is honestly a slap on the wrist for him but I don't want him near female idols and actresses, since he's got a problem. Men are so fucking entitled, it makes me so mad. ugh