Yang Hong-won, school violence and motel controversy... Agency clarifies "No sexual acts occurred"

Hip-hop artist Yang Hong-won has recently been embroiled in an affair scandal, bringing renewed attention to various past controversies, including allegations of school violence. His agency, AP Alchemy, explained that Yang Hong-won accompanied acquaintance A to a motel under coercive demands, and the woman B who accompanied them had no place to stay, so she was there out of necessity. They also claimed that no sexual acts occurred in the room. The agency stated that the materials were maliciously edited and filed a lawsuit against A for extortion, violation of the Stalking Punishment Act, and defamation by spreading false information, together with B. Yang Hong-won faced school violence allegations during his appearance on Mnet’s ″High School Rapper″ in 2017, which he admitted. Later, classmate C claimed to have waited 16 years for an apology, but the agency sued C for stalking. Yang Hong-won and model Won Hyun-joo have been dating since 2017 and gave birth to their daughter Lua in November 2024. The two were living together and held their wedding ceremony on the 18th. Recently, Won Hyun-joo unfollowed her husband on social media. In the hip-hop scene, rappers such as Black Nut, Bumkey, Han Dong-geun, Im Young-min, Bill Stax, Noel, and T.O.P have continued their activities despite moral and legal controversies. Some agencies have tolerated their activities, mentioning Just Music founded by Swings, Brand New Music led by Rhymer, former YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk, and Seungri, a former member of Big Bang. A representative from a record production company stated that in South Korea, only TV appearances are restricted, but there is no way to block overseas events or online activities. Additionally, although there are calls for legislation to restrict album releases by ex-convicts, citing that the main consumers of the hip-hop genre are male high school students, it was conveyed that such measures are difficult to realize under the Constitution of the Republic of Korea.