Lee Jungyeop, the CEO of Woolim Entertainment, is under fire from verbally abusing and assaulting INFINITE's Nam Woohyun on broadcast while he was intoxicated.
Nam Woohyun had hosted an Instagram live alongside his bandmate Kim Sunggkyu and their CEO, Lee Jungyeop. The trio was seen drinking outdoors as they continued the broadcast. However, Lee Jungyeop ended up intoxicated and started verbally abusing and assaulting Woohyun, which led fans to be angered at his actions.
Nam Woohyun was telling fans that would be hosting the live broadcast on his account since Kim Sunggkyu was experiencing problems with his. At that moment, Lee Jungyeop started swearing and berating Nam Woohyun for his weight. Lee Jungyeop was heard telling him, "Your face alone weighs 80 kilograms, so stop it."
Nam Woohyun was aware that at that point, they had already gone live and fans were watching. This leads him to ask his CEO to stop cursing. Instead of calming down, Lee Jungyeop got even angrier, cursing at him even more.
Kim Sunggkyu tried to mediate the situation, telling the CEO, "I think you will kick the blanket tomorrow. Please be careful." Kick the blanket means regret, and he warns the CEO that if he does not stop, he may regret his actions the next day.
Lee Jungyeop did not stop, however. He started getting physical and hit Nam Woohyun over the head on his hat. Nam Woohyun instead tried talking to the fans, saying, "Did you guys see that? He hit me like this. He's hitting me so much." Fans say he was trying to playfully change the subject, but Lee Jungyeop was too intoxicated to stop. He was head berating and cursing at Nam Woohyun, and even told him "Your face is the worst".
After the broadcast, fans expressed anger over Lee Jungyeop's careless behavior. Though some say that it was wrong of them to hold a live broadcast while out drinking, many people pointed out that the main issue is Lee Jungyeop's verbal abuse and violence.
It has been said that the members of INFINITE are close to their CEO, but fans still demand an apology for the abuse Woohyun had to endure. While Woolim Entertainment has not responded to the controversy, many are waiting if they will release a statement.
INFINITE debuted in 2010 under Woolim Entertainment. They originally debuted with seven members, but member Hoya had left the group in 2017. The current line-up is Sungkyu, Dongwoo, Woohyun, Sungyeol, L, and Sungjong. It is noted that in 2019, L had left Woolim Entertainment, but is still a part of INFINITE.
They rose to stardom in 2013 following the release of their EP "New Challenge", which sold over 160,000 copies in South Korea alone and is known as one of the best-selling albums of 2013.
The group made their unofficial debut in Japan in 2011 with a Japanese version of their song "Come Back Again", but the title was changed to "To-Ra-Wa". They made their official Japan debut late that same year with the release of "BTD".
Nam Woohyun is the main vocalist of the group and is also active as a songwriter, composer, and actor. Prior to his debut, Woohyun was a model for a shopping mall alongside BEAST's Junhyung and T-ARA's Jiyeon. He also plaid the lead role in KooPD's music video for "Guigamalo" in 2007. In 2009, he appeared on Mnet's "Girl Punch" and sang Lee Seung Gi's "Words That Are Hard to Say". He auditioned for Woolim Entertainment as a soloist but was recruited as an idol trainee.In 2016, he debuted as a soloist with his first EP "Write...".
