Actor Cha Ye-ryun faces new gapjil allegations at hair salon

Actor Cha Ye-ryun, 41, has denied school violence allegations and signaled legal action, but the controversy surrounding her shows no sign of dying down. Following accusations of school violence and gapjil at a golf course, a new eyewitness account has emerged claiming she behaved rudely toward staff at a hair salon in Seoul's Cheongdam-dong.

On Thursday, various online communities and social media platforms circulated an account from a user identified as A, who said they had visited the same Cheongdam-dong salon as Cha roughly 17 years ago.

A said that after Cha came out from having her hair washed, staff began blow-drying it when she "suddenly became irritated and snatched the hair dryer to do it herself." A added, "To my eyes, it looked like she was dismissing the staff or treating them like an emotional punching bag. I figured someone would eventually come forward — it just seems to be surfacing now."

A separate user, identified as B, then commented with a similar account, saying they had actually worked at the salon.

B wrote that Cha "routinely snapped and grabbed the hair dryer," adding, "I was hurt emotionally at a young age. I later thought she had become a kinder person after getting married."

Another witness, identified as C, who said they had seen Cha at the same salon around the same time, wrote, "I saw her there too around then. I remember thinking, 'If you're going to do your own hair, why come to a salon?'"

However, it has not been confirmed whether any of these individuals actually visited or worked at the salon in question.

The controversy began on Oct. 29, when a post appeared on an online community claiming the author had been bullied by Cha during their school years.

The author alleged being physically assaulted and harassed in classrooms, bathrooms and on playgrounds during middle school, and said Cha had borrowed a gym uniform and never returned it.

Then on Friday, a user claiming to be a former caddie said they had caddied for a group that included Cha around 2012 to 2013. The user alleged that Cha had been irritable and dismissive toward them but changed her attitude when she received a phone call from someone believed to be an acquaintance.

Cha's side has twice denied the school violence allegations and character criticism as "groundless" and signaled legal action.

HB Entertainment, Cha's agency, reaffirmed its position in an official statement Wednesday, expressing "deep regret for the concern caused to fans and the public by the ongoing controversy surrounding Cha Ye-ryun online," and reiterating that claims about her past raised online had previously been declared "groundless."

The agency said it was "taking very seriously the current situation in which unverified claims and speculation raised anonymously continue to spread, with criticism now directed even at the actor's family," and warned it would "take strong action against the malicious spread of false information and personal attacks."

Cha and Ju Sang-wook married in 2017 and welcomed a daughter the following year.