Actor Lee Bum Soo is exposed of “abusing his power” against his students.
On Dec 7th, YouTuber User Guje posted a video titled “The reason why Lee Bum Soo’s student attempted to make an extreme choice,” raising suspicions of Lee Bum Soo‘s power abuse.
User Guje revealed an e-mail from a student at Shinhan University’s Department of Performing Arts, saying, “We will disclose why Lee Bum Soo’s student suffers enough to consider extreme choices.”
Student A said in their mail, “I am living in pain due to insomnia and suicidal thoughts,” adding, “Professor Lee Bum Soo does not come to class even when he is at school. The timetable says it’s Professor Lee Bum Soo’s class, but another professor teaches that class.” Lee Bum Soo is also accused of discriminating against his students, saying, “The ones who have a lot of money and those he likes are class A, and the ones who are poor and those he hates are class B. He doesn’t even come to watch the performance of those from Class B. He does not teach them acting and discriminates against them during casting for performances. Those who he likes or have a lot of money get to play the lead and support roles until their graduation, while those who he hates or don’t have money only have lines like ‘(Laugh)’ and stay in shadow until their graduation. I cannot learn acting at all,” they exposed.
A continued, “You have to be favored by Professor Lee Bum Soo, and you have to be a slave as you are told. Students are asked to conduct private inspections so much that they cannot breathe. Half of the freshmen who were anxious about this situation either took a leave of absence or dropped out. One sophomore dropped out this week and even appealed for help during class, saying that Lee Bum Soo is insulting his personality and gaslighting him.”
User Guje also released an interview recording with another student of Lee Bum Soo. Student B also claimed, “Lee Bum Soo’s discrimination against his students is severe,” adding, “I couldn’t even do my part-time jobs at all. How much money do college students actually have? So I worked late or worked part-time on weekends so that I wouldn’t disturb the class. However, many students are called in by him on weekends, making them unable to work part-time,” they said.
B confessed, “Professor Lee Bum Soo didn’t allow students to take a leave of absence or drop out of school, maybe because he had an inferiority complex regarding Shinhan University. He said, ‘If you take a leave of absence or attend another school, I’ll make sure you won’t be able to work in this industry as an actor.’ He doesn’t even allow us to take military leave.”
However, there were also students who denied Lee Bum Soo’s power abuse allegations. User Guje quoted class A’s students and said, “They said they understand why class B feels discriminated against. However, Lee Bum Soo discriminates against them not because of money, but because of their lack of acting skills. Furthermore, it’s true that it’s an environment where you can’t take classes if you work part-time, but this was announced in advance before class.”
These students added, “Regarding the military leave, it’s true that Lee Bum Soo told them to only go to the military after the third year, but he only gave those advice in consideration of his students.”
In response, an official from Lee Bum Soo’s agency Big Punch Entertainment told JTBC Entertainment Team on Dec 7th, “Lee Bum Soo has been teaching as a professor for a quite, and this is the actor’s personal matter. We don’t know much about his work as a professor.”
Since 2014, Lee Bum Soo has been teaching as the head of the Department of Performing Arts at Shinhan University.
Source: Sports Chosun
