Song Ha-yoon Non-Referral Decision Disputed After Bullying Accuser Case Reportedly Sent to Prosecutors

The Song Ha-yoon non-referral decision has become the central issue in renewed attention on the Song Ha-yoon bullying dispute, after several Korean outlets reported both the police’s earlier decision and the actor’s side’s claim that the case was later sent to prosecutors. The matter concerns a criminal complaint filed by Song Ha-yoon against a person identified as A, who had publicly alleged school violence in 2024.

Reports published on June 25 and June 26, 2026, describe a procedural sequence that remains contested in part: police made a non-referral decision on February 19, Song Ha-yoon’s side filed an objection, supplementary investigation followed, and Song’s legal representatives later said the case had been forwarded to prosecutors with an opinion recommending indictment. A has disputed at least part of that account, according to an OSEN report carried by Korea Daily.¹

Song Ha-yoon Non-Referral Decision and Later Referral Claim

The first key point is the February 19, 2026 police decision. Seoul Shinmun, citing a MoneyToday report, said police decided not to send Song Ha-yoon’s complaint against A to prosecutors at that stage. The reported reasoning was that the defamation allegation did not constitute a crime, while business interference and intimidation were judged to have insufficient evidence.²

Ilgan Sports reported the same basic police assessment: defamation was treated as “not a crime,” and the business interference and intimidation allegations were not recognized because of insufficient evidence. The outlet also reported that Song Ha-yoon’s side filed an objection to the police decision.³

Song Ha-yoon’s representatives later presented a different current status. Maeil Business Newspaper reported on June 25 that attorney Kim Sun-kyung of law firm Jieum, representing Song Ha-yoon, said the criminal complaint filed by the actor had been sent to prosecutors with an indictment opinion. Kim was quoted as saying, “The criminal complaint filed by actor Song Ha-yoon has been sent to prosecutors with an indictment opinion.”⁴

Financial News, carrying a Newsis report on June 26, also cited law firm Jieum’s explanation that A had been referred on allegations including defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, business interference, and intimidation. That report described the February non-referral as the result before Song Ha-yoon’s side filed an objection, and said the matter later proceeded through supplementary investigation.⁵

Sports Kyunghyang similarly reported that the initial police non-referral was followed by an objection and supplementary investigation, and that the current status, based on Song Ha-yoon’s legal representative’s explanation, was referral to prosecutors with an indictment opinion.⁶

Timeline of Reported Developments

The table shows why the phrase “non-referral” can describe one reported stage of the case while not necessarily settling the present procedural argument. The February 19 decision is a reported police outcome at an earlier stage. Song Ha-yoon’s legal representatives say that outcome changed after the objection and supplementary investigation. A, however, has pushed back against the actor’s side’s explanation.

Allegations, Denials, and Disputed Legal Status

The underlying school bullying allegation remains separate from the procedural question over the criminal complaint. A alleged through a 2024 broadcast that Song Ha-yoon assaulted A during high school. Reports also state that Song Ha-yoon’s side has denied the allegation. Seoul Shinmun quoted Song’s side as saying there was “no fact of having exercised any violence.”²

The dispute has therefore developed on two tracks. One concerns A’s original claim about school violence. The other concerns Song Ha-yoon’s complaint against A for alleged defamation, business interference, and intimidation. The available reports do not show a court judgment resolving the original school violence allegation, nor do they show a final prosecutorial or court outcome on Song Ha-yoon’s complaint.

The most contested point in the latest reporting is the legal meaning of the referral claim. Maeil Business Newspaper and Financial News/Newsis reported the position of Song Ha-yoon’s legal side that the case had moved to prosecutors with an indictment opinion. Korea Daily, carrying OSEN, reported that A responded by saying A’s own documents showed the case went to prosecutors with a non-referral opinion and that the existing decision was maintained even after supplementary investigation.¹

That contradiction is significant because the available source material does not include the underlying police or prosecution documents in full. The reports identify what each side says and what outlets have reported about the police decision, but they do not provide a final judicial determination.

For now, the confirmed public record from the cited reports is limited to the reported February 19 police non-referral, Song Ha-yoon’s side’s objection and later claim of prosecution referral with an indictment opinion, and A’s reported rebuttal of that claim. Until prosecutors or a court provide a final outcome, the case remains a disputed legal and factual matter rather than a resolved finding on the underlying Song Ha-yoon bullying allegation.

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Cloi Lee

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