On December 14, actor Lee Bum Soo's legal representative released an official statement to once again refute his accusations of power abuse, raised by anonymous netizens claiming to be his former/current students.
In the statement, Lee Bum Soo's side revealed the actor's intentions to prove his innocence by presenting valid evidence during Shinhan University's formal investigation.
Furthermore, Lee Bum Soo's legal rep stated, "The course taught by Lee Bum Soo at Shinhan University is not a course required for any major requirements, thus, students will not face any consequences should they choose to not enroll in the course, or drop it midway."
The rep added on, "Most practical courses at Shinhan University cap the number of students at 15. Thus, if more than 15 students wish to take a practical course, then the course is divided into two or more sessions. For first year students, this division is done through each student's admission scores, and for all other years, through their last semester grades. Thus, Lee Bum Soo has no way of knowing which students come from low income or high income families, and he has no reason to find out."
The statement also clarified, "The fact that the schedule for Lee Bum Soo's course is subject to change due to his own schedules was notified to all students before the start of the semester. Measures are being taken to assure that students do not face disadvantageous situations due to the schedule changes. However, if Lee Bum Soo decides that he did not cover ample class material by the end of the class time, or if students feel that not enough material was covered, Lee Bum Soo extended the class time upon the students' agreement. He had no idea that these minor adjustments would lead to such a great issue. The actor made sure that should classes run late, students were asked to leave on time to utilize public transportation, and he worked with a teaching assistant to adjust schedules in a timely manner. However, despite his efforts, Lee Bum Soo would like to apologize for failing to pay closer attention to the individual needs of students."
Finally, regarding the accusations that Lee Bum Soo prevented students from taking a leave of absence from school to fulfill their mandatory military service requirements, the legal representative refuted, "In the first semester of 2022, 26 students took a leave of absence for mandatory military service from the performing arts department. Lee Bum Soo is in charge of signing off mandatory military service leave requests for the performing arts department. Based on the evidence, the accusations that the actor prevented students from taking leave are false."
Meanwhile, Lee Bum Soo was appointed as a dean of the performing arts department at Shinhan University in 2014.
Log in to comment