Korean drama “It's Okay to Not Be Okay” star Seo Ye-ji manipulated and controlled the behavior of actor Kim Jung-hyun during the filming of his 2018 drama “Time,” preventing him from doing any “skinship” or physical contact with co-star Seohyun as required in the script.
An exclusive report by Korean media outlet Dispatch on April 12 showed text messages between Kim Jung-hyun and Seo Ye-ji, who is suspected to be his rumored girlfriend at the time, in which she ordered him not to have any skinship and to change the script so that there would be no romantic scenes or physical contact.
Seo Ye-ji also ordered him to take videos and audio recordings during filming. He would do it by focusing his cell phone’s camera lens on the floor, record it and send it to her.
The report added that when Kim Jung-hyun received a script, he would ask for revisions and send it to Seo Ye-ji.
In one of the text message exchanges, Kim Jung-hyun told Seo Ye-ji, “I keep reading the script. I’m not doing anything else.”
“Correct it well so there is no romance. You are happy because of me. So make me happier,” she told the actor.
In another set of text messages, he told her, “I am going to read the script” to which she replied, “Yes. Fix it well. No skinship. No romance” and he said, “Sure.”
The report added that from episodes 5 to 12 of “Time,” the script had 13 skinship scenes but none of them made it to the airing.
Kim Jung-hyun is currently in dispute with his agency, O& Entertainment, over the expiration of his exclusive contract.
O& Entertainment is claiming that Kim Jung-hyun’s contract should be extended by 11 months to compensate for the time that he took a break after leaving “Time.”
In August 2018, Kim Jung-hyun stepped down from his lead role in “Time” due to health reasons such as eating and sleep disorders, and went on hiatus for 11 months.
Articles have resurfaced pinpointing his rude behavior towards Seohyun during the press conference for “Time” held on July 20, 2018.
In one video clip of the press conference circulating on YouTube, Kim Jung-hyun and Seohyun are standing side by side to pose for the media and she tried to link her arm with him for the photo but he refused.
Kim Jung-hyun was expressionless at the event and when the four main stars of the drama finished posing for the press, he left the stage immediately to go to his seat, leaving his three co-stars.
At the time, he was criticized for his rude behavior but told the media at the event that "it is for my role," the Korea Times reported in 2018.
After “Time,” Kim Jung-hyun starred in “Crash Landing on You” and “Mr. Queen.”