"Is your friend's dad promoting a 'Ok-jangpan'?"... Kim Ho-young to explain instead of staying silent [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

Four years ago, the so-called "Ok-jangpan victory" between Kim Ho-young and Ok Joo-hyun, who lit up the musical and entertainment worlds, has resurfaced. Ok Joo-hyun deliberately targeted Kim Ho-young, but Kim Ho-young remains silent. It could be that he is not answering because it is a past matter, but if Ok Joo-hyun's statement that what Kim Ho-young called "Ok-jangpan" was not an attack on Ok Joo-hyun but rather "promoting his friend's father's Ok-jangpan" is true, it is hard to understand. Kim Ho-young seems to need to provide an explanation rather than remain silent.

On the 7th, Ok Joo-hyun confessed her feelings and the damage she suffered regarding the "Ok-jangpan" controversy created by Kim Ho-young four years ago through her personal account. Through a long post, Ok Joo-hyun revealed that she has been suffering due to Kim Ho-young's posts up to now and suffered significant damage at the time.

Prior to this, Ok Joo-hyun had mentioned the incident in a post on a fan communication app, but as the issue grew, she posted directly again, bringing up the details of the four-year-old incident once more.

The "Ok-jangpan" controversy mentioned by Ok Joo-hyun erupted after the casting lineup for the 10th-anniversary performance of the 2022 musical "Elisabeth" was revealed. With Ok Joo-hyun and Lee Ji-hye cast in the role of Elisabeth, suspicions arose that Ok Joo-hyun had been cast through "connections."

The controversy intensified when Kim Ho-young posted on his SNS: "Asari-jangpan is old news. Now it's Ok-jangpan." Although Kim Ho-young did not directly mention Ok Joo-hyun, speculation continued that he was attacking her by alluding to "Ok-jangpan." His post included a photo of an Ok-jangpan along with musical stage emojis. When the post sparked controversy over allegations that Ok Joo-hyun used connections for casting in "Elisabeth," the "Elisabeth" side issued an explanation, and Ok Joo-hyun posted, "Those who spread rumors without facts should be punished," before filing a defamation lawsuit against Kim Ho-young and two netizens.

Kim Ho-young's side explained that the post contained personal content and stated, "We cannot understand that Ms. Ok Joo-hyun judged the situation based only on unconfirmed facts, and we regret that she tarnished the reputation of the parties involved and actor Kim Ho-young without verifying the facts." As the situation escalated, fellow musical actors also stepped in, and Ok Joo-hyun announced that she would withdraw her lawsuit against Kim Ho-young.

Ok Joo-hyun brought up this issue again after four years. Through a statement posted on her personal account, Ok Joo-hyun said, "Some may think it is already a past matter, and others may wonder why I am bringing it up now. I thought staying silent while pretending to be fine was the best course of action. However, I felt that no one properly understood why I had to say those things or what I endured during that time." She continued, "At the time, I did not want to escalate the controversy further, so I withdrew the lawsuit. After hearing explanations such as 'I have never attacked you even once' and 'The post was made to promote my friend's father's Ok-jangpan,' I decided not to discuss this issue any further. However, the frame did not disappear with time. Nevertheless, I remained silent because I did not want to harm the work, the production company, or my colleagues. Now, I am not affiliated with any work or production company. I thought it was a time when I could speak solely as actress Ok Joo-hyun," explaining why she brought up the four-year-old controversy.

Ok Joo-hyun stated that the "Ok-jangpan" frame became a nickname attached to her name, and since then, she had to endure suspicions, mockery, and criticism for a long time. She added, "Eventually, I even made the decision to withdraw from a work for everyone's sake. I felt ashamed of being part of this musical society, so I opened my heart to my fans."

Ok Joo-hyun said, "What I want is not just an emotional fight. However, if those words were truly not directed at me, why did so many people think of me? And why has there never been any explanation in front of the public regarding the damage and wounds caused by this?" She added, "I hope my name is no longer consumed as a mockery called 'Ok-jangpan'."

At the time of the incident, it was true that Ok Joo-hyun acted hastily and excessively, and bringing up the matter again after four years with remarks such as disparaging the skills of other musical actors or not wanting to appear on future stages may seem rash. However, since Ok Joo-hyun has once again put this issue on the table, it seems necessary for Kim Ho-young to provide an explanation rather than consistently staying silent about whether "Ok-jangpan" was an attack or truly a promotion of his friend's father's business.

There is a reason to explain why such a post was made at the time and, if it was indeed a promotion for Ok-jangpan, why he did not clear up public misunderstandings back then.

Currently, Kim Ho-young is known to be traveling in New York, yet even while traveling, he released new content through his YouTube channel on the 8th.

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*This content was translated by AI.