(Interview ② continued) Actress Shim Eun-woo talked about A, who raised the 'school violence suspicion'.

On the 24th, an interview with actress Shim Eun-woo took place at a café in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.

Earlier, actress Shim Eun-woo, who gained immediate attention through the drama 'The World of the Married,' suspended her activities in 2021 due to allegations of school violence. At that time, an anonymous writer, A, claimed to have been bullied by Shim Eun-woo during middle school, to which she rebutted, saying, "It is true that we did not get along well, but there was no violence." However, as the controversy grew, she apologized, saying, "I'm sorry if I hurt you with immature words or actions."

Afterwards, in 2023, Shim Eun-woo appealed her innocence, stating, "The apology at the time was not an acknowledgment of school violence but stemmed from misunderstanding." Additionally, classmate B also clarified regarding A's mention of the school violence incident involving Shim Eun-woo, saying, "A had a misunderstanding with me and we had an argument. At that time, while Park So-ri (Shim Eun-woo's real name) and the others were watching me argue with A, they sided with me, which led to the only incident of a fight in class."

Moreover, Shim Eun-woo filed a defamation lawsuit against A for false information, but the police ruled it as non-indictment, citing that A did not perceive it as false. Following this, on the 21st, after nearly two years, Shim Eun-woo released a lengthy statement again appealing her innocence, saying, "I want to live. I desire to live."

That day, Shim Eun-woo recalled, "At first, A said they only wanted an apology and had not demanded any money. I thought, if what they wanted was money from the beginning, they should have said so at the start. It could have ended before dragging on for so long. However, when I received a sudden demand for money, it was very surprising."

She continued, "I was preparing a request for re-investigation, but after receiving the (monetary demand) written notice, I was so surprised that I consulted with my legal representative about what to do. Just because they demanded money now, there was no reason to comply with that request; we decided to focus solely on the re-investigation we were preparing. The written notice also stated that they hoped for a response, but I focused only on the re-investigation I aimed to conduct."

Shim Eun-woo also recalled her relationship with A. When asked if she remembered what kind of relationship she had with A during school years, she said, "At the time the school violence suspicion first arose, I didn't even know if I was in the same class as A. So what I said in 2021 was, 'I don't have class with A.' That alone indicates that I had no special memories of A at all." She added, "(Since then) there has been no contact with A. If we had met, we could have clarified what class we were in, what happened, and why such an incident occurred. But those opportunities didn’t arise, so I didn't know. I only learned about being in the same class when B's writings came out."

In particular, she stated, "I don't even know what A sounds like. (In the meantime) I've communicated with A's sister for all communications. Going back to the very beginning, when I tried to contact A directly to get their number in 2021, I received A's sister's number. Since then, all communication has been handled by her sister. The manager at the time said that A told them, 'If Shim Eun-woo comes, I will not meet with them,' so our company personnel and A, A's sister, and A's uncle met. It was during this meeting that it was mentioned that they wanted a public apology from Shim Eun-woo. Throughout that process, A kept looking down, and all communication was carried out by the sister and uncle. When the manager asked, 'So did Shim Eun-woo hit you?' A replied, 'Shim Eun-woo never hit me,' and that was the last remark."

She continued, "And afterward, there was no communication with A. During this time, while preparing for re-investigation after initially being non-indicted, discussions with our legal representatives included, 'How about meeting to have a conversation before doing more?' A date was set, but the day before, suddenly A insisted, 'I won't meet unless Shim Eun-woo apologizes,' leading to the cancellation. Since then, there has been no correspondence, with A's written notice marking the end."

She expressed, "I thought a lot about why A did this to me. Those were things I should have asked in person. I couldn’t ask because we couldn’t meet, and I’m still curious. What on earth could it be? I can't understand because I haven't heard it. Why is this happening?" She added, "In fact, until now, both in 2021 and continually, I have had the thought of wanting to meet A. The reason I wanted to meet is that I was also curious about the series of events. I had many questions to ask. Later on, I realized that I’ve never seen the face and current state of the person who has put me through this, and I don’t know what their voice or speaking tone is, which feels absurd to me as my life gets consumed by this situation."

However, she noted, "But now it seems I no longer have a reason to meet with this person. So in the future, I don’t think I will want to meet or request a meeting. If they wish to meet, they should request it. It seems that I’ve lost the reason to seek such meetings now." She added, "However, if A does something more, I will have no choice but to follow through. What more can I do? I actually want to stop this. Yet if A continues to take action, I have to reveal the truth. Regardless of whether I continue acting or not, I also need to maintain human relationships and live my life." While shedding tears, she asserted, "Now, regardless of what this person does, I want to stop. I'm tired, but it doesn’t seem like something I can let go of myself."

[Photo] Provided by herself.

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