Another sexual assault scandal has rocked the kdrama world. This time it involves Cha No Ah, the 24-year-old son of actor Cha Seung Won, 43.
Cha No Ah is accused of assaulting a minor, a 19-year-old high school student, known as "A." On Aug. 2, the student alleged that Cha No Ah held the girl against her will in his grandfather's vacation home and repeatedly raped her. Cha No Ah says he is innocent of these charges and that the couple was dating.
The Seoul Central Police Department is currently investigating the charges to determine whether Cha No Ah, a former pro-gamer in the LG-IM League of Legend, will be prosecuted.
It's the second scandal this year for Cha No Ah. In March, he was charged with marijuana possession, along with television personality Bianca Mobley of "Chit Chat With Beautiful Ladies" and Daniel of the boy band DMTN Having and using marijuana in South Korea is a criminal act that can lead to imprisonment or a heavy fine.
A day after the assault charges were made public, actor Cha Seung Won issued a public apology for his son's behavior. Cha Seung Won, the actor who starred in the dramas "City Hall," "The Greatest Love" and "Athena: Goddess of War," posted the following statement on his Me2day page:
"Hello, this is Cha Seung Won. Before I'm actor Cha Seung Won, I'm a father and I would like to apologize for my shortcomings as a father. I'm responsible for the son that caused this trouble and I cannot ease my troubled and broken heart. I deeply apologize once again."
Cha Seung Won married in 1989 when he was an 18-year-old college freshman. He and his wife Lee Soo Jin have two children, Cha No Ah, called Noah, who was born the same year and a daughter, Cha Ye Ni, called Rachel, born in 2003.
Netizen comments distributed the blame for Cha No Ah's actions evenly between the son and the father. One netizen wrote that the actor would find it difficult to show his face in Korea after being so badly embarrassed by his own son. But several comments also noted that Cha Seung Won should not blame anyone else for his son's actions because he raised him.
The actor's apology implies that he also feels responsible for his part in raising a son that could be implicated in such a scandal.
