Nam Joo Hyuk is facing bullying allegations, which his agency, Management SOOP, has already shut down. However, an unearthed clip from the filming of "Start-Up" showed the "Twenty-Five, Twenty-One" star seemed to be insulting his then-on-screen partner Suzy.
In the behind-the-scenes clip uploaded in December 2020, Nam Joo Hyuk asked Suzy what she ate after doing their kissing scene. The question seemed to imply that former Miss A member's breath stunk and many didn't like his behavior back then.
After filming the scene, the 28-year-old actor asked the "Vagabond" star what she ate for lunch. The actress started to look embarrassed, saying she ate noodles and asking if she smelled like one.
The actor then asked if the noodles she ate smelled like Samhap, to which the singer asked if he did eat one. "No, no. I didn't," the model said after laughing a bit.
Suzy then smacked him on the arm and asked why he would question her after a kissing scene. AllKpop explained that Samhap is a fermented fish dish served with Kimchi and pork belly.
Given that it's fermented, it emits a strong ammonia-like odor. Nam Joo Hyuk seemed to allude that Lee Dong Wok's ex-girlfriend's breath smelled.
The celebrity gossip YouTube channel Sojang also revealed that many netizens thought that the "Josee" star was mocking Suzy's hometown of Jeolla by saying she smelled like Samhap. Others also criticized the actor for crossing the line with his remarks, saying he was "openly and rudely embarrassing" Suzy in front of the show's staff by implying her breath stunk.
Meanwhile, Nam Joo Hyuk is facing another round of school bullying allegations. His first alleged victim named B gave an interview last week to reveal his bad experience with the actor, per Soompi.
Management SOOP already denied the claims back then and later revealed that it would take legal action against the reporter, B and the publication where the interview was first published. However, after a week, a different news outlet released a new interview with the second accuser, referred to as A, who went to the same high school as Nam Joo Hyuk and claimed he was also his and his friends' victim of school violence.
A reportedly decided to take a step forward after Nam Joo Hyuk's agency decided to sue their classmate, B, and denied the bullying claims against its talent. The same day, Management SOOP opposed the new allegations, saying they had checked the accusations, which they said were "groundless."
