As speculations spread online regarding the identity of a senior comedian whom comedian Jung Chul-gyu confessed had mistreated him for six years, Jung has spoken out directly to clear the air.

Jung recently appeared on the YouTube channel "Namumiki Heungshinso" and revealed that he had been subjected to verbal abuse by a senior colleague for about six years. Following the broadcast, various names began circulating online, primarily targeting comedians who debuted through KBS open recruitment, as suspects behind the harassment.

As the controversy continued, Jung left comments directly on video posts spreading across social media, drawing a line by stating, "Ryu Dam, Noh Woo-jin, and Kim Jin-chul are frequently mentioned, but to tell you the conclusion first, it is not them."

He went on to explain, "Woo-jin is a junior and a close friend of mine. I barely even had a conversation with Ryu Dam. And Jin-chul is someone who never nagged me and we are still close." He added, "If you look at the video as a whole, the focus was on how I went through that past ordeal, overcame it, and am now living a happy and hardworking life. Thank you," while urging people to refrain from making hasty speculations.


Previously, Jung Chul-gyu appeared on the YouTube channel "Namumiki Heungshinso" and confessed that he had suffered verbal abuse from a senior for about six years.

During the broadcast, he recalled, "That senior must have really disliked me. Every time he came to the conference room, he would tell me not to let myself be seen and made remarks as if he wanted to kill me. It wasn't even six days; it was six years. It was so hard." He added, "I heard that at a Gag Concert workshop, I asked that senior what I had done wrong and said I would fix it if I genuinely made a mistake, but he replied, 'You didn't do anything wrong. I just hate you, so get lost.' I realized there was no answering that."

He explained that when fellow comedian Park Joon-hyung, who witnessed the situation at the time, tried to intervene by saying, "Stop it already. Why are you doing this to Lanka?", the senior responded, "I just hate him. This bastard is annoying."

Jung stated that during this period, he suffered from lowered self-esteem and insomnia, leading him to visit a psychiatric department. "The self-loathing was greatest when I felt like a useless person who wasn't respected anywhere. As my mind began to plummet and I couldn't sleep, I took depression medication and sleeping pills," he said, adding that he later started exercising and recovered his self-esteem by working as a multicultural instructor.

Meanwhile, Jung gained immense popularity in 2004 playing "Blanca," a character representing a migrant worker from Sri Lanka, on KBS2's "Gag Club."

(Photo: Yonhap News) Translated by SBS Digital News based on an original article by Kang Kyung-yoon of SBS Entertainment News.