'Me Too' controversy engulfed actor Jo Min-ki, who was facing police questioning, and it has been 7 years since he passed away.
March 9, 2025, marks the 7th anniversary of the late Jo Min-ki. He was found dead on March 9, 2018, in a storage area in the basement of a mixed-use building in Guui-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul.
At the scene, a suicide note of six A4 pages was discovered, which contained an apology to students and family members. In response, the bereaved family announced that they would not proceed with an autopsy.
Before his death, Jo Min-ki was embroiled in 'Me Too' accusations for allegedly molesting students while serving as a professor in the Department of Theater at Cheongju University. Jo Min-ki noted, "I will not evade legal and social responsibility. I will reflect on my mistakes and live the rest of my life in self-restraint," but he passed away ahead of the police questioning.
With Jo Min-ki's death, the investigation into the sexual assault case was closed due to lack of public prosecution rights. Among them, student victims who confessed to being abused expressed their distress, stating, "They called us 'gold diggers.' Every day, reading comments like 'Me Too killed a person' made me think, 'Is it because of me that someone died?'" and noted that they were suffering from bullying online in addition to the sexual assault.
Additionally, some victims expressed their feelings, saying, "It's frustrating that the allegations ended up being unresolved. We couldn't finish anything, and we couldn't do anything. Phrases like 'It's over' and 'You've worked hard' felt unjust and frustrating."
After her husband's death, Jo Min-ki's wife posted on social media to celebrate his birthday. She shared a photo of a birthday cake, coffee, liquor, and cigarettes arranged around his grave, captioning it with, "Happy birthday. Celebrating your birthday." In response, some netizens pointed out that celebrating a birthday was thoughtless, as the 'Me Too' victims had not been able to clear their grievances, and while the victims' pain is unfortunate, it was argued that the family should not experience collective punishment.
Jo Min-ki debuted in 1991 with the film 'Sorrowful Farewell.' He appeared in films such as 'First Love,' 'Shall We Kiss?' and 'The Attorney,' as well as dramas including 'Ambition,' 'The Moon of Seoul,' 'My Love, Yumi,' 'Star,' 'City Hunter,' 'Mom's Flag,' 'Tears of a Rose,' 'Love,' 'Partner,' 'Romance,' 'Seven Brides,' 'Shy Lover,' 'Light in the City,' 'School 4,' 'Detective Park Moon-soo,' 'Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin,' 'Wife's Rebellion,' 'Iljimae,' 'East of Eden,' 'Queen Seondeok,' 'My Wife is Back,' 'The Great Flood,' 'Two Weeks,' 'Hwajung,' and 'Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo.'
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