Nam Joo Hyuk faces allegations of bullying that his agency, Management SOOP, has already shut down. However, a leaked clip from the filming of Start-Up showed that the Twenty-Five, Twenty-One star appeared to insult his co-star Suzy at the time.
In the behind-the-scenes clip, uploaded in December 2020, Nam Joo Hyuk asked Suzy what she ate after her kissing scene. The question seemed to imply that the former Miss A member’s breath stinks and many disliked his behavior at the time.
After filming the scene, the 28-year-old actor asked the Vagabond star what she had for lunch. The actress started looking embarrassed, saying she ate pasta and asking if she smelled it.
The actor then asked if the noodles she ate smelled of samhap, to which the singer asked if he ate one too. No, no. I haven’t, said the model after laughing a little.
Suzy then slapped him on the arm and asked why he was asking her out about a kissing scene. AllKpop explained that samhap is a fermented fish dish served with kimchi and pork belly.
Because it’s fermented, it gives off a strong ammonia-like odor. Nam Joo Hyuk seemed to allude to Lee Dong Wok’s ex-girlfriend’s breath being sniffed.
The Celebrity Gossip YouTube Channel Soong also revealed that many netizens thought the Josee star was making fun of Suzy’s hometown of Jeolla by saying it smelled like Samhap. Others criticized the actor for crossing a line with his remarks. He openly and rudely embarrassed Suzy in front of the show’s staff by suggesting her breath stinks.
Meanwhile, Nam Joo Hyuk faces another round of bullying allegations at school. His first alleged victim, named B, gave an interview last week detailing his bad experience with the actor, as soompi reported.
SOOP’s management denied the allegations at the time and later announced that it would take legal action against the reporter, B, and the publication in which the interview was first published. A week later, another news magazine published a new interview with the second prosecutor, dubbed A, who attended the same high school as Nam Joo Hyuk and claimed that he and his friends were also victims of school violence.
A reportedly decided to take a step forward after Nam Joo Hyuk’s agency decided to sue her classmate B and denied the allegations of bullying against her talent. On the same day, SOOP management challenged the new allegations, saying they had reviewed the allegations, which they said were unfounded.
