Signal Actor Cho Jin Woong Announces Retirement Over Past Misconducts, Agency Issues Statement

Actor Cho Jin Woong said he will retire from acting entirely after partially admitting to allegations of crimes committed when he was a minor. A local media outlet, Dispatch, reported Friday that Cho committed multiple

offenses when he was in high school in 1994, including sexual assault and theft, and that he was sent to a juvenile detention facility.

Cho Jin Woong Announces Retirement

On December 6, Cho released a statement through his agency, SARAM Entertainment, saying, "I apologize for letting down those who supported and believed in me because of my past misconduct. I accept all reprimands. Starting today, I will suspend all my activities. I am putting a period to my path as an actor." Further, he added, "I humbly accept all criticism, and as of today, I will suspend all activities and bring my acting career to an end. I believe this is the rightful responsibility and duty I must bear for my past mistakes. I humbly accept all criticism, and as of today, I will suspend all activities and bring my acting career to an end. I believe this is the rightful responsibility and duty I must bear for my past mistakes."

Agency Issues Statement, Apologises

"From here onward, I will do my utmost to stand again as a proper human being. Once again, I sincerely apologize. Thank you to everyone I loved and respected. I am sorry," Cho concluded. Online posts emerged alleging that Cho Jin Woong had been involved in various criminal acts during his youth, including vehicle theft and sexual assault, for which he had reportedly spent time in a juvenile facility. His agency had earlier released a statement: "We confirmed with the actor that he had committed wrongdoings when he was a minor. But the confirmation is based on facts that were done more than 30 years ago and it is difficult to grasp the whole situation. But we want to make it sure that he wasn't involved in sexual assault behaviors."