Shim Eun Woo admits she bullied ex-schoolmate

Seoul — The World of the Married actress Shim Eun-woo has apologised for emotionally bullying her ex-schoolmate to the point of making her change schools. Earlier this month, Shim, who starred in the popular K-drama The World of the Married as a bartender struggling with an abusive boyfriend, was accused of bullying by a female acquaintance from middle school. Shim, 28, took to Instagram to admit the accusations were true and said she met up with her ex-schoolmate to apologise.

The actress said that the media buzz generated by the accusations had at first made it hard for her to meet face-to-face with her former schoolmate as she was feeling too “emotional.” Shim contacted her friends to piece together a recollection of what had happened between her and the victim as her memory was fuzzy.

“I thought that listening to the victim’s story would be the only way to find out what happened, so I asked another time for a meeting.

“Finally on March 25, I met the person with their family and my agency.

“I was able to hear their situation and feelings they had when they were in middle school,” wrote Shim. After listening to her schoolmate’s experience, Shim realised how her actions had left a “deep scar” on the person.

As reported on Malay Mail Online, Shim said sorry to the victim for hurting her and promised to learn from the incident to become a better person.

“I thought deeply about my past actions and present self, and I sincerely apologised to (the person).”

Earlier this month, an anonymous netizen who attended seventh grade with Shim accused her of treating her like an outcast at school. Although there was no physical violence involved, Shim’s emotional abuse was so severe that she was forced to transfer schools in ninth grade for her well-being.

Shim joins a slew of Korean celebrities caught up in bullying scandals this year.

Last month, Itaewon Class actor Kim Dong-hee and Sky Castle actor Jo Byung-gyu found themselves facing bullying rumours, which they both denied.

Girl group member Soojin of G-IDLE and Seventeen member Mingyu also last month denied their former schoolmates’ allegations of harassment./TISG