'Sixth Sense: City Tour 2' PD has been sued for sexual assault, but he is strongly denying the allegations, saying that the accusation is completely false.
On October 31, reports surfaced that a famous variety show PD, identified as A, had been accused of sexual assault. B, a person who worked on the show's new season with A, filed a complaint at the Mapo Police Station in Seoul in August. B reportedly provided a statement and submitted evidence materials including CCTV footage.
According to reports, B stated that A made unwanted physical contact after a company dinner. When she resisted, A verbally insulted her and unilaterally removed her from the show she was working on. B claimed she had been involved in the project since the early planning stages, including casting, production, and pre-filming. However, she was dismissed about 2 months before the show aired.
Besides the sexual assault complaint, B also reported sexual harassment and workplace harassment to the company. However, the company's internal investigations reportedly only agreed with some parts of the sexual assault claim against A but found no proof of workplace harassment. However A denied all allegations and both sides have since filed appeals against the result of the internal investigation.
Meanwhile, B’s lawyer, Attorney Lee Eunui, issued an official statement revealing that A is the PD of tvN’s variety show 'Sixth Sense: City Tour 2.' According to the statement, “The sexual assault happened near the company building, right after the 2nd round of a company dinner, while people were leaving. The dinner was on August 14th, and the second round ended after midnight, around 12:30 AM to 12:40 AM. At about 12:40 AM, most people from the 2nd dinner were standing outside to go to a 3rd place, when A approached the victim and suddenly rubbed her arm and neck."
The lawyer continued, "To get away from the touching, the victim put her arm around A's shoulder to make him drop his hand from her neck, then she moved away and tried to call a taxi. But A came back again, pressing his forehead against hers. The victim quickly said her taxi had arrived and left. A followed her for a moment, but then stopped, and went to the next dinner location."
The statement aded, "Five days after the sexual assault, on the morning of August 20, the victim received a message from A notifying her of her dismissal from the show. The two had their first argument during a location scouting trip on August 18, which A used as the reason to dismiss her."
The lawyer further stated, “On August 26, the victim submitted a written complaint to the police and cooperated with their investigation. But the problems that happened to the victim after August 15th were more than just the sexual assault, so she reported it to the company and requested action. After being dismissed, she appealed to senior executives about the unfair dismissal, but she did not mention about the sexual assault. This was because of shock and fear, but mostly because the victim didn't want people to think that she was using the sexual assault to get back at A for the unfair dismissal. When the company didn't take any actions, the victim had no choice but to officially report al the issues with both the company and police."
However, A's lawyer, Attorney Lee Kyungjun, issued an official statement to fight back against these claims. According to A's side, "B had already been reassigned to a different team because junior colleagues, co-workers, seniors, and even external staff had all expressed difficulties working with B. During the show's production, B’s behavior and remarks repeatedly caused conflict within the team, to the point that an important staff stopped talking to B completely and even refused to look at her in the eye, resulting in a complete communication breakdown.”
The statement continued, "A made every effort to fix the situation and keep the project on track, but even his attempts to talk things out ended in arguments. Because of this, the management decided to move her to a different team."
As the head producer of the show, A informed B of the reassignment, but B strongly fought against the decision with A's superiors. A's side claims that when B's objections were rejected, she started attacking him with false reports filled with lies. A's side claims, "It is completely untrue that A made sexually inappropriate physical contact with B or verbally insulted her after she resisted. At the time of the alleged incident, during a company dinner attended by over 160 people, A and B were only seen making brief contact like patting shoulders or putting an arm around a shoulder on the street with many passersby and co-workers present. This level of contact cannot be described as sexual. Moreover, B herself also made casual physical contact with A, such as touching his shoulder, as she often did."
The lawyer further claimed, "We have obtained and given to the police video evidence showing B touching A’s shoulder while he was sitting still and another where B walked up behind A and tried to wrap her arm around his shoulder while he was walking ahead. The second video was even taken on August 18, four days after the dinner."
The lawyer also questioned, "When B filed her complaint on August 26, she couldn't even clearly state which touch she considered unwanted. She only gave a vague and inconsistent statement. 'I haven't decided whether to file a formal lawsuit yet, but I do not intend to drop the charges.'"
The statement added, "Colleagues who know A's character are standing together to prove he is innocent of a false accusation. A strongly denies all allegations of sexual assault. The company is currently conducting an extra investigation, and he police have not even begun their first questioning of A. In this situation, it is totally unacceptable and unforgivable to use the media to destroy the reputation and character of an innocent person like A."
The lawyer concluded, "We want the police to conduct a thorough and strict investigation. At the same time, we hope there won't be a public fight over the truth in the media before the police have even started their first interview or made a decision. We will answer everything through the police investigation, and A's innocence will be clearly proven in that process. We sincerely ask everyone to refrain from spreading false information that could damage A’s honor and reputation."
