K-pop star Cha Jun-ho accused of school bullying, but former X1 member’s agency denies Twitter accusations and vows legal action

By Lee Hyo-jin

Cha Jun-ho, 18, a former member of K-pop boy band X1, is under fire for alleged bullying while at school six years ago.

The speculation started with several tweets posted on Tuesday by Twitter user “RuHwa_180”, who claimed to be Cha’s former classmate at Dukmyung Elementary School in Hongseong county, South Chungcheong province, in South Korea.

“I was constantly bullied by Cha Jun-ho and his female friends in fifth grade,” the tweet said. “Even our homeroom teacher was aware of it.”

Over several tweets, the accuser said Cha also used to verbally abuse and insult other classmates. The alleged victim added screen captures of Kakao Talk messages and photos from the yearbook as evidence.

After the posts went viral on Twitter and other social media platforms, internet users demanded a response from Cha. The singer’s agency denied all accusations. It also vowed to take strong legal action.

Woollim Entertainment said in an official statement: “We have confirmed that there is some false information spreading online regarding our trainee Cha Jun-ho. The agency has immediately checked and clarified that none of them are true.

“We plan to take strong legal action against false claims and malicious rumours to protect our artist.”

Cha is a former contestant on South Korean music channel Mnet’s TV competition show Produce X 101. He became a member of the project group X1 after he ranked ninth in the final. The group made their debut last August.

X1 were disbanded in January after the Produce series was investigated for alleged vote rigging.

Read the full story at the Korea Times