Musical Actor Han Ji-sang Responds to 6-Year-Old Sexual Assault Allegations: What You Need to Know

Daniel Kim 2026.03.14 Views

Photo = YouTube / Han Ji-sang

[Sports Today reporter Kim Tae-hyung] Musical actor Han Ji-sang has issued a public statement regarding sexual-assault allegations stemming from six years ago.

In 2020, Han was accused of sexual misconduct. A female fan, identified only as A, alleged that during their first meeting he requested sexual activity beneath a bar table within hours of meeting and later attempted to force sex after booking a couples’ massage.

Han’s camp countered that the two had been seeing each other, and after their relationship went cold, A began demanding apologies and large sums of money. They said Han filed a complaint accusing A of attempted extortion and coercion, but prosecutors declined to indict A in November 2020.

The matter resurfaced after Sungkyunkwan University announced on the 9th that it had invited Han to join as a lecturer, then reversed the appointment amid student protests. Students posted notices and used social media to raise concerns about Han’s past allegations and demanded the appointment be rescinded; faculty held an emergency meeting and announced the withdrawal.

Han opted to confront the controversy directly. On the 13th, he uploaded a 22-minute video to his YouTube channel detailing his relationship with A, the alleged money demands, and the results of his legal actions against online commenters.

In the video he opened by saying he wanted to “clearly address ongoing confusion caused by distorted falsehoods” about him.

He described how they met: a senior colleague messaged him that a woman wanted an introduction via direct message. Because A said she wanted to meet privately, he contacted her, they exchanged messages online and then met in person.

Han said their initial meeting felt like a blind date, and that mutual attraction developed. “We honestly expressed interest in each other and there was physical contact. It wasn’t one-sided; it grew out of mutual feelings,” he said.

A publicly released a recorded phone call in which she says, “I was attracted to the actor as well, and the mood became that way. It was not sexual assault.”

Han said he began to feel after their third meeting that he could not continue the relationship, and during a fourth meeting he clearly signaled he did not want to carry on. He said they never met again, though she kept contacting him, and he acknowledged he should have made his refusal even clearer.

He said A later began calling him “actor” and sent texts framing the encounter as one-sided sexual assault. Han described being shocked and afraid for his career, and decided to try to calm her down. He did not tell his family or agency at first. Because she kept demanding an apology and compensation, he considered paying.

On the question of money, Han said A initially presented concrete options. When he asked what she wanted, she listed “Option 1: 500 million to 1 billion KRW” and “Option 2: a year of public dating.” (5억–10억 = ₩500 million–₩1 billion, approximately USD 375,000–750,000.) He said she later reduced the demand to 300 million KRW (3억 = ₩300 million, approximately USD 225,000). “I never suggested or even imagined 300 million KRW,” he said.

Han said A justified the 300 million KRW request by recounting a past breakup in which she said an ex received 100 million KRW (1억 = ₩100 million, approximately USD 75,000) as a parting gift. He said he told family, his agency and acquaintances just before he planned to transfer money, and that the agency advised him to have representatives handle communications and to remain silent, which led him to stop contacting her.

Han said he initially opposed filing a complaint because it would start a second battle and he feared how the other side might react. “I didn’t want my name publicized; it wasn’t an easy decision,” he said. He added that attempted coercion was the first charge brought, but the prosecutors ultimately issued a non-indictment due to insufficient evidence.

He said he was preparing a professional comeback when he received a message that read, “Now it’s my turn.” After that, explicit posts began to surface. “It felt retaliatory. If the case I’d filed ended in non-indictment, what would happen? It caused a huge uproar. My position became untenable, and I withdrew from projects,” he said.

Han said prosecutors dropped the case because the money demands and request for a public relationship did not meet the threshold for threats that would cause substantial harm. “I lost my livelihood and suffered significant damage. Had we been able to prove those claims in court, the outcome would have been different, but we could not, and the charge was dismissed as insufficient,” he said.

Addressing online accusations that labeled him a sex offender, he said only the prosecution can determine criminality. He shared parts of the indictment that state, “Victim Han Ji-sang did not commit or receive punishment for a sexual crime.”

He concluded by insisting that in his private relationships eight years ago he “never committed a crime” and “never behaved unethically,” and that he never pressured anyone into financial compensation.