Claims have emerged that the late singer Sulli was forced to perform bed scenes during the filming of the movie 'Real'. As 'Real' gains renewed attention, director Lee Jung-seob, who was initially in charge of the film but stepped down, has spoken out.
On the 28th, director Lee Jung-seob shared a post from a netizen on social media, saying, "Thank you. It has been a long time, and I have been heartbroken." The netizen wrote, "In a tweet about the director change incident of the movie 'Real' in 2017, someone mentioned it, and I thought that the actor is being re-highlighted these days, but could it be that the person involved is speaking out now? Now that the movie has been released, I can say this confidently, but the fact that the movie turned out that way is not 1% the fault of director Lee Jung-seob."
As the post gained attention, the director posted again on the 29th, stating, "I do not have the 'director' credit, so I do not have the qualification to officially clarify," and added, "However, regarding what was mentioned in the article, the production team did not allow me to be present during the initial process of this audition. For fairness, I was excluded from the selection process. I was able to meet the final eight actors selected by the production team, and I personally chose one of them, which led to the rookie actress Han Ji-eun being cast, and we filmed joyfully together."
He continued, "Also, the rookie actor Jo Woo-jin was selected after careful consideration during the audition, and I first met him at the VIP premiere before the release, where I conducted interviews and casting. I ended up working with both actors through an open audition." He reiterated that he does not have the qualification to clarify this matter since he does not have the 'director' credit.
In response, a netizen who appeared to be a fan of Kim Soo-hyun criticized the director, claiming he was inciting controversy, to which the director replied, "I have never incited any revelations. I have been speaking like this for a long time, quietly doing my work, and expressing my personal sad feelings that no one pays attention to."
The director expressed that he does not want to be used by netizens or the media, stating, "If you are a good fan of him, you need to check how his actions have affected the world and act accordingly. I was once a passionate fan of him too."
'Real' is a film that features the late Sulli and Kim Soo-hyun. Initially directed by Lee Jung-seob, the production was later taken over by Lee Sa-rang (now Irobet), the representative of Kim Soo-hyun's agency Gold Medalist.
Recently, Sulli's bereaved family has continued to make revelations. On the 28th, they stated, "We heard suspicious content during Sulli's funeral in 2019," and added, "We learned this from testimonies of staff and actors. We heard that the bed scene between Sulli and Kim Soo-hyun was not specifically detailed in the original script, and we would like to hear Kim Soo-hyun's stance on this."
They also stated, "I understand that there was a body double for Sulli's nude scene during filming, and that the body double was present on set. We want to ask why they did not use the body double and instead persuaded Sulli to perform the bed and nude scenes," and urged, "On the day the bed and nude scenes were filmed, we heard that the body double was sick and could not come. However, according to testimonies from attendees at the funeral, the body double was present on set. Is this true?"
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
