“He is not the type of person that will harass others.”: Nam Joo-Hyuk’s former batchmates and teachers come out in his support

Odds seem to be in favor of Twenty-Five Twenty One star Nam Joo-Hyuk. After the second allegation of bullying against the actor, a popular media outlet, Dispatch interviewed around twenty of the actor’s former classmates and teachers. All of the interviewees spoke in favor of the actor.

Joo Bo-hyung, an alumnus of the school, said:

“Nam Joo Hyuk is not the type of person that will harass others. He liked sports. Nam Joo Hyuk would even laugh when his friends teased and joked around with him. He has a good personality, that’s right. That’s why his friends liked him.”

Other batchmates of the actor also came out in support of him and refuted each claim made against him. According to testimony from one of the informants, the actor and his friends frequently engaged in bullying behavior at the school where they attended. Countering this claim, the batchmates and alumnus of the actor said:

“How on earth should one go to school? Isn’t that how most people’s school life is? Is it a problem to hang out with friends? Students who are good at studying tend to gather together, those who like sports gather together. It’s just hanging out with friends who have the same interests. I was like that, Nam Joo Hyuk was also like that.”

Dispatch conducted an in-depth investigation into the allegations made against Nam Joo-Hyuk. They stated that whenever such claims of a celebrity's past are made, it is imperative to interview the informant in order to verify the credibility of the claim.

However, the majority of the assertions made by both the anonymous complainants are merely statements and lack substantial corroborating evidence.

In previous bullying allegations, records from the School Violence Committee convened to investigate a case of bullying have been provided as evidence in support of the claims. Further, other records, such as those kept by hospitals regarding patients' treatments, are also considered to be relevant evidence of physical violence.

None of these records have been provided by the current complainants. Therefore, the validity of the current claims is diminished as the sole piece of evidence is a photograph of a yearbook. Hence, a comprehensive investigation into the particulars of the claims is required.

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Nam Joo-Hyuk’s schoolmates and teachers testify in his favour

Nam Joo-Hyuk seems to have the unwavering support of not only his agency, but also multiple schoolmates and teachers. According to classmates from the tenth and twelfth grades, the complainant was unaware of the ambience and culture that prevailed at Suil High School in 2012. The opinion resonated with two additional classmates who have known the Start-up actor since eleventh grade.

Two eleventh and twelfth grade classmates of the actor commenting on the allegation said:

“Our school at the time had very severe punishments. It was extremely strict. There was never the idea that there was a group of bullies at school. What kind of friend would bully someone consistently? If the teachers heard about it, things at school would be crazy.”

Multiple alumnus made a statement stating that Suil High School was reputed for its strict and disciplined culture with no tolerance for bullying:

“There was no culture of bullying at the school. It was a school where the person bullying would be treated as the weird one if they tried to create an atmosphere of bullying.The alumni are asking that we step up and cooperate with the police investigation.”

A batchmate who willingly revealed her identity, Seo Sok Hoon, said:

“I’m saying this because they really didn’t know what school was like. There may have been a group of people that thought a certain group at school were bullies. Nam Joo-Hyuk was not part of that group.”

A tenth-grade classmate of the actor shared his personal everyday experience with the actor and said:

“He used to say some random things since he was a model. All of his friends laughed. He went to a modelling academy, enjoyed basketball, and slept a lot. The teachers trusted him a lot. There’s that sense of justice… haha.”

Furthermore, the actor’s tenth grade teacher also vouched in favor of his good character during his school days. The teacher said:

“Nam Joo-Hyuk was a student who would tell the others ‘hey guys, let's not fight anymore, let's quiet down.’ He was the type to mediate when there was a fight, saying ‘let’s not fight anymore.’ I don’t know what kind of misunderstanding the informant has but Nam Joo-Hyuk is not that kind of person.”

The eleventh-grade homeroom teacher of the 26-year-old actor also made an elaborate statement to Dispatch in which she said:

“I saw a comment that this just doesn’t feel right for some reason. I felt the same way. Nam Joo-Hyuk was a positive and enterprising child. He had a sense of justice. I liked that, but there were also times I did have to scold him. But there weren’t any kids who didn’t like Nam Joo-Hyuk. He is not a bully. Feel free to include my testimony. That is how confident I am.”

The barrage of support and counter-claims in favor of Nam Joo-Hyuk has turned the tide in favor of the actor. However, it must be remembered that these counter-claims cannot be treated as rock-solid proof of innocence and an in-depth investigation still needs to be conducted.