Actor Lee Bum Soo's management agency Big Punch Entertainment released an official statement concerning the latest accusation of power abuse against the actor.
The agency Big Punch Entertainment said in an official statement on December 7, "We first apologize for the unexpected inconvenience caused by the latest controversy revolving around actor Lee Bum Soo." The agency continued to say, "We would like to share with everyone the truth since there are misunderstandings that came about."
Big Punch Entertainment explained that Lee Bum Soo has been teaching as a professor starting 2014 and has been teaching students for eight years. The agency revealed that Lee Bum Soo had already made adjustments with the university to hold classes on the weekends instead of the weekdays due to his filming schedule.
The agency also explained that the actor was sometimes unable to notify the schedule changes to the Academic Affairs Office in advance. The entertainment company explained, "He asked for the students' understanding sufficiently and has also diligently made up classes he had missed by teaching supplementary classes. However, he apologizes for not being able to accommodate students' individual study schedules. If the communication with the students has been insufficient in this regard, we will reflect on the mistakes and make improvements."
The entertainment company also curtly denied the allegations that Lee Bum Soo had abused his powers on his former and current students. The agency explained, "Lee Bum Soo has not discriminated against his students or spoken abusively to them. Additionally, all rumors are ungrounded. Lee Bum Soo is currently faithfully responding to the school's investigations to find out the truth. We have already clarified the facts through the investigation and will continue to cooperate faithfully in the future."
Lastly, Lee Bum Soo's agency explained it would take decisive legal action against those who spread false information about the actor.
The full statement from Big Punch Entertainment reads:
"Hello, This is entertainment agency Big Punch Entertainment. We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the unexpected controversy over Lee Bum Soo's activities as a professor. We also apologize for causing this misunderstanding. In addition, we apologize for releasing a statement in regard to a negative story. In order to clearly correct the misunderstanding, we would like to state the following regarding the facts. Actor Lee Bum Soo has been on the podium since 2014 and has taught students for 8 years. As a result of discussing with the university regarding the class schedule, we received the reply that it is possible to hold classes on weekends rather than weekdays. In particular, this year, there were cases in which Lee Bum Soo was unable to teach on the weekdays due to the filming schedule for a drama and movie. There were times when he was unable to notify the Academic Affairs Office in advance due to the sudden schedule change. But the actor asked for the students' understanding sufficiently and has also diligently made up classes he had missed by teaching supplementary classes. However, he apologizes for not being able to accommodate students' individual study schedules. If the communication with the students has been insufficient in this regard, we will reflect on the mistakes and make improvements. However, Lee Bum Soo has not discriminated against his students or spoken abusively to them. Additionally, all rumors are ungrounded. Lee Bum Soo is currently faithfully responding to the school's investigations to find out the truth. We have already clarified the facts through the investigation and will continue to cooperate faithfully in the future. After, we plan to take strong legal action against those who spread false information about actor Lee Bum Soo."
Meanwhile, Lee Bum Soo has recently faced accusations that he had abused his power against his students. An anonymous student raised various accusations against the actor and professor, stating that Lee Bum Soo discriminated against students who are from lower-class families.
After dealing with my own power trip professors in school and reading the students' accusations, I'm on their side. Anyone who restricts education or offers preferential treatment based on wealth does not deserve to be a teacher.
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