Symbolic Actor Adds to #metoo Suspects List

A former actress and beauty queen has accused veteran actor Lee Young-ha of sexual harassment.

The unidentified woman won a Miss Korea pageant in her teens in the 1980s and then turned to acting.

She told a TV Chosun news show that after appearing on several TV shows, she was working with Lee on a photo shoot. After the project, he invited her to a hotel suite in Yeouido, Seoul.

"I remember him forcing me to lie down on a bed and attempting to rape me," she said. "I kept asking him to spare my life."

After the incident, the woman said she stayed away from the showbiz industry.

The woman also said that when she recently contacted Lee online, he

sounded more flirtatious than apologetic.

"He replied, 'Long time no see! It has been 35 years, right? Let's meet up, grab a bite and let me apologize," he allegedly replied. "Let me know when you are available and I will contact you."

The woman said she was so upset at his attitude that she ignored him at first.

Lee then sent her a message, which enraged her more.

"He said, 'I want to apologize sincerely to you. I am lying down out of fatigue,'" she said. But she said he did not sound serious.

She demanded sincerely apology from Lee.

It is really unfair to expect me to pity and sympathize with him after all he did to me.

She said the sexual harassment had left an indelible mark on her.

Lee, 68, debuted as a musical...