Several people have come out to defend embattled Korean actor and "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" star Kim Seon-ho and belied the claims of his former girlfriend regarding the circumstances about their aborted baby and relationship, which lasted from 2020 to May this year.
Korean media outlet Dispatch published a story on Oct. 26 and directly named the actor’s former girlfriend.
Abortion
The woman posted on Korean website Pann Nate last Oct. 17 to reveal that “popular actor ‘K,’” who turned out to be Kim Seon-ho, forced her to get an abortion in July 2020 under the pretext of marriage and that they would live together.
Three days later, Kim Seon-ho issued a statement on Oct. 20 to apologize to his former girlfriend and to the public.
“Though we were in a relationship with good feelings to each other, I have hurt her with my carelessness and inconsiderate actions. I would like to apologize in person, but I am currently waiting some time to ask forgiveness. I would like to say sorry with this writing,” he said, the Korea Herald reported.
On Oct. 20, the woman updated her online post to say that Kim Seon-ho directly apologized to her.
“I am sorry that my writing has caused unintentional damage to many people. There was a time when both he and I truly loved each other but I also feel bad to see him collapse in an instant due to some of my extreme posts. I received an apology from him and it seems that there was a misunderstanding between us,” she said.
She added, “I hope that no more false information will be revealed or that my or his story will be expanded and reproduced. My heart is heavy because it seems that this incident has caused a lot of damage to many people. This post will be down soon.” She deleted her entire post on the Pann Nate website.
Based on the Dispatch report, Kim Seon-ho and his former girlfriend mutually agreed to abort their baby. She told him that she was pregnant on July 24, 2020 and she had an abortion three days after on July 27.
In her Oct. 17 post, the woman said she was six to seven weeks pregnant when he urged her to have an abortion but she wanted to have the baby.
She said he told her, “If you have a child now, I have to pay 900 million won (about $762,000) in damages, and I don’t have 900 million won right now. In fact, I later found out that he didn't even have to pay a 900 million penalty for having a baby but he persuaded me to have an abortion with lies.”
The woman added that when she had an abortion, Kim Seon-ho did not accompany her to the hospital. Instead, he sent his acquaintance. He sent 2 million ($1,692) for surgery and hospital expenses.
In the Dispatch report, Kim Seon-ho’s best friend B, a theater actor, told a different story. B claimed that Kim Seon-ho told her that the baby was a blessing and comforted her.
“At first, he congratulated her by saying it is a ‘good thing.’ But in reality, I think he was scared. He thought a lot about it. Unfortunately, they agreed to let go ,” Kim Seon-ho’s friend said.
On the day of abortion on July 27, according to Dispatch, B waited in the parking lot and Kim Seon-ho and her girlfriend came down later. She suddenly changed her mind so their conversation became longer.
In her original post, the woman said she wanted to have the baby.
“Both of them came down with swollen eyes. This decision would not have been easy. While I went to the hospital with her, he went to buy ingredients for seaweed soup ingredients. He is a person who cannot cook,” said B.
Abortion in Korea
Under Article 269 of Korea’s law, Criminal Act, “A woman who procures her own miscarriage through the use of drugs or other means shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year or by a fine not exceeding two million won .”
In addition, Article 270 of the same law states that “A doctor, herb doctor, midwife, pharmacist, or druggist who procures the miscarriage of a female upon her request or with her consent, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than two years.”
However, Korea’s Constitutional Court issued a landmark decision on April 11, 2019 that the two provisions were unconstitutional. It ordered Korea’s legislature to amend laws related to abortion by Dec. 31, 2020.
“The legislature shall amend these Provisions as early as possible, by December 31, 2020, at the latest, and if no amendment is made by then, these Provisions will be null and void as of January 1, 2021,” according to the Constitutional Court’s decision.
Lawmakers were ordered to decide how many weeks of pregnancy in which they would allow abortion. Dec. 31, 2020 passed without a new law on abortion and the criminal provisions became null and void. Until now, the legislature has yet to pass a new law on abortion.
In her post, the woman said after after her abortion, Kim Seon-ho’s attitude changed. The Dispatch report, however, stated that after the abortion, Kim Seon-ho cooked seaweed soup for her for two weeks.
She also said he promised he would introduce her to his parents, that they would live together next year and he would marry her in two years.
Dispatch quoted her friend “C” as saying that after her abortion, Kim Seon-ho introduced her to his parents, had meal with them and slept at his parents’ house. She stayed close to his parents and Kim Seon-ho tried to win her trust. He also got a dog for her so she would not be lonely, the report added.
In the end of the Dispatch report, “B,” Kim Seon-ho’s close friend, stated, "Seon-ho ‘hyung’ said this. It's true that he let go of his child. He tried to understand because he loved her. He did not want to fight over his private life in front of the whole nation. So instead of responding, he apologized. Seon-ho is that kind of person. He had the same normal relationship as others. He never hid her. I saw it all.”