Why was Shinee's Onew slapped with sexual harassment charge?

South Korean boy band Shinee has gone through so much in the last one year. Onew, one of the members of the band, stayed away from action for months after he was slapped with sexual harassment charge in August last year. Then the band's lead singer Jonghyun died towards the end of the year, leaving the group with only four members – Onew, Key, Minho, and Taemin. But in what could come as a respite for the troubled band, sexual harassment case against Onew has now been officially dropped.

SM Entertainment, the label that formed the K-pop group in 2008, has confirmed that Onew has been acquitted of sexual harassment charge by the prosecution, according to Donga (in Korean). 

Onew is currently in Dubai with his band-mates to perform at the concert titled: SM Town Live World Tour VI in Dubai at the Autism Rocks Arena in Dubai Friday, April 7.

Why was Onew charged for sexual harassment?

The singer cum actor was accused of sexually harassing a woman in her 20s at a club in the Gangnam district of Seoul in August 2017. The plaintiff dropped the charges against the singer later but the case was referred to the prosecution.

It was reported that Onew had told the police that he visited the club along with his friends but couldn't recollect anything as he was too drunk.

However, the incident hit him hard, so much so that he opted out of the JTBC drama Age of Youth 2 and remained out of action for several months.

He offered an apology to his fans, band-mates, SM Entertainment label and his parents in a hand-written letter later in the year after keeping silent for four months following the sexual harassment allegation. He wrote that during the hiatus, he reflected on how he had disappointed those who loved him with his irresponsible ways. He also assured to live a good life in the future.