Renowned b-boy crew Jinjo Crew expels a member accused of sexual harassment, to temporarily halt activities

On August 29 KST, leader Kim Heon Joon of the globally renowned b-boy crew based in South Korea, Jinjo Crew, issued a lengthy statement to address accusations of sexual assault suffered by a former female crew member, 'A'. 

Kim Heon Joon wrote on this day, "'A' has claimed that she was sexually assaulted by a male crew mate on November 30, 2019, and was then again sexually harassed by another male crew mate on February 5, 2022. As of August 27, 2023, the male crew member accused of sexual harassment has been expelled. As of August 29, 2023, another male crew member who is suspected of victimizing 'A' a second time with an online post has also been expelled from the team." 

The leader of the crew clarified that the male crew mate, previously accused of sexual assault in 2019, was immediately expelled after 'A' came forward with the accusations at the time, and the matter was resolved without further complications. However, after 'A' came forward with accusations of sexual harassment against another crew member in 2022, the crew was unable to resolve the matter right away, instead attempting to hear both sides of the story. When both sides continued to make conflicting claims, 'A' and the accused assailant were ordered to be separated, but the male crew member was not expelled on the spot. 

As a result, Kim Heon Joon formally apologized to 'A' through this statement for failing to resolve the matter directly, but at the same time denied 'A's claims that Jinjo Crew "defended" the accused assailant or that any further sexual harassment occurred during the crew's team meetings. 

In the end, Kim Heon Joon announced that Jinjo Crew would be taking a temporary hiatus from activities for a time of reflection. The leader assured that Jinjo Crew would be adopting a strict policy of "immediate expulsion" should any future gender discrimination arise.