Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun, best known for the Korean film and dramas “My Sassy Girl,” “My Love from the Star” and “Legend of the Blue Sea,” and her husband, businessman Choi Jun-hyuk, have reportedly separated and are heading for a divorce.
The YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute reported on June 2 that Jun Ji-hyun’s husband left her six months ago but she does not want a divorce because of its huge impact on her career.
Jun Ji-hyun, 39, and Choi Jun-hyuk, 39, were classmates in elementary. They met through an acquaintance in 2010 and got married in 2012. They have two sons.
Last October, Choi Jun-hyuk became the largest shareholder of Alpha Asset Management, “an investment firm that manages multiple asset classes,” when his father gave him 1.4 million shares, representing 70 percent stake in the company.
According to the hosts of the Garosero Research Institute channel, Jun Ji-hyun, whose assets are estimated to be worth 87 billion won ($78 million), refused to agree to a divorce because of the penalties she may incur from her advertising contracts.
The divorce may negatively impact her career as an endorser of products and companies may impose penalties against her because of it. The channel said if she is getting 1 billion won (about $899,211) per advertisement, the penalty will be triple and she may have to sell a few buildings she owns. Because of this, according to the channel, Jun Ji-hyun is considering living abroad.
After the report came out, Culture Depot, Jun Ji-hyun’s agency, issued a statement on June 3 to deny it.
“First, we would like to make it clear that the content mentioned in the broadcast is groundless,” it said.
It added that information that is different from the facts is spreading indiscriminately online, and it confirmed that intentional and malicious rumors are being created and posted.
“Accordingly, we are trying to find out the exact facts about the distorted information that is not true, and we will take strong legal action against the spread of false information through articles and comments that are different from the facts,” the agency said.