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Hometown Cha Cha Cha actor Kim Seon-ho will be making his first public appearance at the press call for his new acting project, Touching the Void.
The actor was embroiled in controversy last year when an anonymous user online revealed the details of having been in a relationship with him. The user also claimed to have been gaslighted by him. The user even alleged that the actor forced her to have an abortion. However, the claims were proven to be fake by Korean media outlets that investigated them.
Kim Seon-ho is set to return to the public sphere with his first project since the accusations against him came out last year. He will be seen at the press conference of his upcoming play on July 20.
The 36-year-old also posted an apology to his fans on his Instagram handle, which was his first public engagement on the platform in nine months.
Everything about the accusations against Kim Seon-Ho
Kim Seon-ho returned to work this year with a play called Touching the Void. The actor first came into the limelight with the highly rated show Start Up. He played the very charismatic second lead on the show, which also starred Bae Suzy and Nam Joo Hyuk.
However, the actor rose to prominence with the show Hometown Cha Cha Cha alongside Shin Min-ah.
It was during the show's successful run that a user of the Korean online community, Nate Pann, made the accusations against the actor. She alleged that 'Actor K' forced her to have an abortion while they were in a relationship but broke up with her later on.
The user didn't reveal the identity of the actor and instead chose to call him 'Actor K.' In the post, the user said:
" I am disclosing actor K's two faced and shameless true nature. a piece of trash without the slightest conscience or sense of guilt"
She added that Actor K's behavior changed towards her post abortion.
After all the claims came to light, a YouTube influencer said that the claims seemed to point towards Kim Seon Ho. The actor, meanwhile, accepted that he was 'Actor K' and issued an apology.
He said:
"This is Kim Seon Ho. First, I sincerely apologize for my belated statement. When I first saw the news articles with my name on them a few days ago, I experienced a fear like I had never felt before, which is why I am only now presenting myself in writing."
However, he didn't address the allegations about the forced abortion, just apologized for having caused a lot of hurt to his ex-girlfriend. Part of his apology read:
"Once again, I want to sincerely apologize to all who may have been hurt by this incident. I know that these ramblings are insufficient to reach many people earnestly, but I offer my honest thoughts in any way that I can. I am truly sorry."
Kim Seon-ho lost some brand endorsements and a few film projects after the allegations. He was about to make his debut on the big screen with actress Go Ara in the movie Sad Tropics by Park Hoon Jung. He was also going to be a part of Kim Deok Min's omnibus project Dog Days. However, the actor lost both the projects due to the allegations.
It is worth noting that his show Hometown Cha Cha Cha continued raking in positive viewer responses and even ended with all-time high ratings.
What happened after the allegations were proven false?
As all of this was happening, the Korean media outlet Dispatch decided to step in and conduct an investigation into the matter. The outlet released screenshots of text messages between the actor and his ex-girlfriend where she was seen apologizing to the actor for lying about her whereabouts.
Dispatch's report also revealed that Kim Seon-ho was a caring boyfriend and that the decision to have an abortion was a mutual one made by both of them.
Dispatch's revelations allowed Kim Seon-ho's life to get back on track and he was also recast in the movie Sad Tropics. The actor's fans also filed petitions to have him reinstated on the variety show Days & 1 Night.
Kim Seon-ho, meanwhile, has stayed out of the limelight and away from social media since the allegations came out. However, on May 7, he made his comeback on Instagram and thanked his fans for staying with him through the dark days.
Fans of Kim Seon-ho showed the him their support and wished him luck for his work.
Some fans also said that they hoped the actor would perform a scene demonstration at the press conference. Others said that he was "brave to come out" to have a press conference nine months after the incident.
Touching the void is based on the real life experience of mountaineers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates
In his comeback play, Touching the Void, Kim Seon-ho will play the role of a mountaineer stuck on a mountain after a calamity. It is based on the real-life experiences of British mountaineers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates. The two survived a petrifying ordeal in 1985 at Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes.
The Start Up actor plays the role of Joe Simpson and it was also revealed that the play is a Korean dramatization of Simpson's 1998 autobiographical novel. The novel was made into a documentary in 2003.
Actors Shin Sung-min, Lee Hwi-jong, Oh Jung-taek, and Jung Hwan appear alongside Kim Seon-ho in Touching The Void. The play is directed by Kim Dong-yeon.
