By kdramauniie 
SBS drama Love Scout‘s production team has issued a statement regarding the controversy surrounding director Ham Joon Ho.
The controversy arose when an online community post revealed that the director was involved in a drunken assault case in 2020. The post included a screenshot of the news report from the time, which stated: “SBS drama department’s PD [producer-director] A was arrested after causing trouble by pouring soju and assaulting passersby in Hannam-dong, Seoul.”
According to reports, director Ham Joon Ho, under the influence of alcohol, poured soju on passerby and aggressively resisted the attempts of his companions to take away the soju bottle and stop him, all of which led to a fight. He was arrested in the act and caused further nuisance at the police station, including yelling at the police officer and hurling sexually explicit insults at a female officer in her 20s.
The same report also revealed that Ham had a prior criminal record, further shocking netizens.
The police charged director Ham with aggravated assault, injury, and insult, among other offenses. They also applied for an arrest warrant, taking into account Ham’s prior criminal record, but it was rejected by the prosecution.
Following the controversy, the production team issued a statement, which is as follows:
Hello,
This is the production team of Love Scout.
Firstly, we would like to sincerely apologize for causing concern with the unfortunate news regarding PD Ham Joon Ho, the director of Love Scout.
It is true that PD Ham Joon Ho faced charges of assault under the influence and insult in early 2020. However, he sincerely apologized to all the victims, received forgiveness, reached a settlement, and faced legal consequences for his actions.
Additionally, the criminal record mentioned in the [screenshot of the] report from five years ago pertains to a minor offense and is unrelated to this incident.
After the incident, PD Ham Joon Ho faced disciplinary action of suspension in accordance with company procedures. He spent three years in self-reflection and repentance before returning as a producer-director.
We kindly ask for your understanding and generosity in this matter.