Veteran actor Lee Bum-soo denies that he favors wealthy students

Veteran actor Lee Bum-soo, who has been accused by some of his students at Shinhan University, where he teaches performing arts for undergrads, of favoring richer students and giving them higher grades, denied the accusation through his law firm YK on Wednesday.

“The courses taught by Lee are not compulsory major courses, therefore students do not have to take his classes in order to graduate,” the law firm stated in a release. “Regarding accusations that Lee divided the students who listen to his courses into smaller classes depending on their ‘richness’ is nonsense as they are divided based on their grades — the entrance exam grade for the freshmen students and the grades of the previous semester for the rest of the students — in order to evenly distribute the students of different levels in one class.”

The statement also stressed that “there’s no way for Lee to find out who is rich and who is poor at the beginning of a semester and there’s no reason for him to.”

Regarding accusations that he abused his power to change the time of the classes so frequently or urge students to take years of breaks from attending school.

Shinhan University decided to carry out its own investigation into the issue.

Its president Kang Seong-jong is said to have sent a text message to all its students and faculty members on Dec. 8, when the accusations began to spread online that the school will “investigate the issue thoroughly and if it turns out to be true, the school will carry out necessary punishments accordingly.”

Lee’s law firm also said that he will faithfully cooperate with the school on the investigation and added that he will take this opportunity to take a look back on his role as a professor and “become a better teacher who communicates more with the students.”

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]