'SKY Castle' actor in his 20s, who left Korea to join Japanese fan club, recruited for abuse controversy
On January 1, Kim Dong-hee's official Instagram account posted a recruitment notice for her official Japanese fan club, D:EAR, with the words, "It's finally open, thank you for your support."
"What is 'D:EAR'? It's a fan club name that combines 'D' for DONGHEE and 'DEAR', which means 'precious person'," Kim Dong Hee's official Japanese X explained, "It expresses the feelings of fans who are precious to Kim Dong Hee and those who value her."
He has recently been posting photos of his recent activities in Japan, and his social media accounts have been filled with comments and support from Japanese and foreign fans, rather than Koreans.
Kim Dong Hee has been announcing new activities since signing an exclusive contract with Neos Entertainment in January. He has already been making news in Japan by holding fan meetings there.
He denied the allegations of abuse, but a year later, after his accusers were "cleared" of defamation charges, he backtracked and apologized.
"When I was in the fifth grade of elementary school, I got into a fight with a classmate while arguing in the classroom, and I was reprimanded by the teacher," Kim said through his agency in 2022. "After the post was published last year, I wanted to apologize to my friend right away for this, but I didn't have the courage to do so because I was afraid that all the things I didn't do would also be taken as true and cause another misunderstanding, and I also wanted to correct the parts that were not true, so I spent the past year. I think I didn't know my friend's heart deeply because of my rash judgments and thoughts when I was younger, and I sincerely apologize for the hurt she received from me, and I hope to make amends."
At the time, Kim Dong-hee denied that he "never held a scissors or a cutter," but admitted to committing acts such as pushing on his chest with his foot.
About Dong-Hee Kim
Kim Dong-hee is a South Korean actor under JYP Entertainment. He is best known for his acting in hit Korean television series such as Sky Castle, Itaewon Class, A-Teen, A-Teen 2, and Netflix's original series Extracurricular.