[Sportschosun Baek Ji-eun] Fin.K.L member Ok Joo-hyun has spoken out once again. The public, however, says it understands her anger but feels she has gone too far.
On the 8th, Ok Joo-hyun wrote on her account, "I withdrew the lawsuit because I did not want to fuel the controversy any further. After hearing the explanation that 'I never once targeted my sister' and that it was 'a post promoting a friend's father's flooring business,' I decided not to talk about this issue anymore. Even though the frame did not disappear with time, I stayed silent because I did not want to harm the production, the company, or my fellow cast members."
She continued, "For many years, I have endured and done my best to deliver the best possible performance in musicals. But the 'Okjangpan' frame that began with one person's words became a nickname attached to my name, and for a long time after that, I had to bear the suspicion, ridicule, and criticism it created. It also had a real impact on my image and my work, and at one point I even decided to step down from a production for everyone's sake."
She also emphasized, "If those words were not directed at me, then why did so many people think of me? Why was the damage and hurt caused by that never explained to the public even once? I also had moments when I was not careful with my emotions, and I am reflecting on that. I hope my name will no longer be used as a joke through 'Okjangpan.'"
In 2022, when suspicions arose that Kim Ho-young had been involved in Ok Joo-hyun's casting for the musical Elisabeth, he posted, "The old days of chaos are over. Now it's Okjangpan." Netizens raised suspicions that he was targeting Ok Joo-hyun, but Ok Joo-hyun and EMK Musical Company, the production company behind Elisabeth, denied the allegations. Ok Joo-hyun filed a defamation lawsuit against Kim Ho-young, while Kim explained that the post was not aimed at her, but was written to promote a flooring business run by a friend's father. Ok Joo-hyun later withdrew the lawsuit.
Four years later, however, Ok Joo-hyun spoke out again. On a fan communication platform, she said, "I had forgotten about Okjangpan. I never received an apology. What I regret most after that incident is withdrawing the lawsuit." But her remarks did not stop at a simple expression of feelings. She mocked the situation, saying, "I thought about hundreds of times whether I should organize it and post it officially on my channel, but someone close to me, who cares about me the most, stopped me. They said, 'Wouldn't it be annoying to have your name appear alongside the name of a child who had been desperate for a long time to become famous?'"
Then, on the 7th, controversy erupted after it was reported that Ok Joo-hyun had belittled younger singers, saying, "These days, even if someone can't sing at all, they do heavy post-production with autotune, and real live performers feel terrible about it. Things that should never be on air get strangely leveled out by autotune. I don't want to sit at the same table with them. It's a bizarre world where it feels like dogs and pigs are all coming out to sing." She also drew criticism for expressing a negative reaction to her next project, saying, "I have a contracted follow-up project in the fall, and I don't even want to do that."
Baek Ji-eun, Sportschosun
