Kim Woojin Opens Up About His Controversy And How He “Overcame” It

In a recent interview with David Kim from DKDKTV, Korean artist Kim Woojin opened up about his controversy from last year, namely the sexual assault allegations made against him.

Former Stray Kids’ Woojin Accused Of Sexual Assault, Personally Denies Accusations

After a lighthearted introduction segment, David said it was time for the two to address the elephant in the room. He then asked Woojin to explain the controversy.

Woojin said it could be explained simply as “something that was not true spread like it was a fact.”

To put it simply, something that was not true spread like it was a fact. Because of that, I had a very rough time. To be frank, I think of it this way. I learned that you can get hurt by things that are not even true. And I could become a victim of such a thing.

— Kim Woojin

When asked how he first reacted to the allegations, Woojin said he “thought it was no big deal since it was a completely groundless accusation.”

He explained that he posted a statement saying it wasn’t him, but that the issue only grew larger after being “totally mistranslated.” His company, 10x Entertainment, later released a documentary in an attempt to prove his innocence.

Woojin stated that the hardest part was seeing the people he cares about “in pain,” including his family and his fans, Cubs.

David asked Woojin how he overcame the controversy. Woojin described his mentality as wanting to leave it in the past, as well as relying on the support from his fans.

The biggest source of power to overcome this was the support from my fans on social media, or the mails that are sent to the label. Every single one of those messages became a really big strength to me.

— Kim Woojin

Woojin said that an optimistic mindset was only one part of it, and that he decided to focus on “showing the best of myself.” Concentrating on his work, he said, helped him as well.

David asked Woojin what helped him “get through the hard times.” Woojin replied that “rather than trying to escape or forget the situation so much,” he tends to “give it some time” in order to “naturally forget about it.”

Watch the full interview below.