Reporters from an entertainment outlet that reported actor Jo Jin-woong's juvenile record have been accused of violating the Juvenile Act.
According to legal sources on the 8th, attorney Kim Kyung-ho of the law firm Hoin filed a criminal complaint the previous day through the National Complaints Portal against two Dispatch reporters, applying charges of violating Article 70 of the Juvenile Act.
Article 70 of the Juvenile Act sets out the principle of non-disclosure of juvenile cases.
Kim said, "The intent of the Juvenile Act is that society has decided to accept a minor's mistake as 'a chance to start again,'" adding, "The Juvenile Act is not a system to hide crimes but a social consensus to help avoid stigmatization."
Kim asked, "Is digging into the misdeeds of a high school student 30 years ago truly the public's 'right to know' in 2025?" Kim also stressed, "Article 70 of the Juvenile Act strictly prohibits relevant agencies from responding to inquiries about juvenile cases."
Kim continued, "If a reporter extracted this prohibited information through a public official or an insider, that is not reporting but a criminal act that illegally pierced a legal shield."
Earlier, on the 5th, Dispatch cited a tipster to report that Jo Jin-woong, when he was in high school, was tried on charges of robbery and rape under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (as of 1994) and was sent to a juvenile reformatory.
Dispatch also reported that after becoming an adult, during his years as an unknown actor, Jo assaulted a theater troupe member and was fined for assault, and that when he filmed the movie "Once Upon a Time in High School," his license was revoked for drunk driving.
After acknowledging some of the allegations, Jo Jin-woong on the 6th declared retirement, saying, "I humbly accept all criticism and, as of today, will halt all activities and put a period to my path as an actor."
Kim then wrote on his social media (SNS) account, "Just as Jean Valjean, after 19 years in prison, became the mayor of Madeleine and saved the poor, Jo Jin-woong too has lived a rehabilitated life, giving comfort and joy to the public through the art of acting."
He added, "Today's public opinion and media became the 21st-century 'Javert' and pursued him."