Victim "Doubts sincerity of Hwang Jung-eum's apology"
"Victim rejects direct apology request from Hwang Jung-eum"
Actress Hwang Jung-eum has been sued for defamation after falsely accusing an innocent woman of being a mistress.
On the 22nd, a representative from Hwang Jung-eum's agency Y1 Entertainment told a media outlet, "We received a message that if the settlement money issue is not resolved, a lawsuit will be filed," adding, "We heard that a complaint has been filed." They continued, "There seems to have been a communication issue with the representative," and said, "Hwang Jung-eum is aware of her mistakes and is trying to resolve the matter properly."
The victim, Ms. A, filed a defamation complaint against Hwang Jung-eum at the Nowon Police Station in Seoul on the 20th.
Ms. A stated, "Hwang Jung-eum's side cut the settlement money in half and even proposed to pay it in two installments," adding, "Since the money was not the main issue, I accepted everything."
The problem arose from the contents of the settlement agreement. According to Ms. A, the agreement proposed by Hwang Jung-eum's side had the clause acknowledging "Hwang Jung-eum admits to defaming and insulting" removed, and instead added a clause stating "If the settlement terms are violated, double the settlement amount must be compensated."
In response, Ms. A's side said, "We could not tell if Hwang Jung-eum was truly sorry," and added, "She treated me as a shameless person trying to get the settlement money, so if that was the case, I asked for the originally requested settlement amount. Unable to tolerate this, I submitted the complaint."
Hwang Jung-eum's side stated, "At Ms. A's request, both parties' representatives went through a compensation agreement process. The payment schedule for the settlement money was also arranged," adding, "Before the final agreement, Ms. A's side suddenly demanded double the original settlement amount." They continued, "The reason was that they felt Hwang Jung-eum's apology was insufficient, and they conveyed their intention to file a criminal complaint if refused." They added, "Hwang Jung-eum made every effort to meet Ms. A in person to apologize, but was rejected. We understand that the criminal complaint has proceeded as a result."
Hwang Jung-eum's side expressed, "We deeply regret that despite our best efforts to communicate and correct the mistake, the situation has escalated," and said, "We hope that our sincere apologies will be conveyed once again to the victim Ms. A, and we will faithfully comply with the ongoing procedures."
In April, Hwang Jung-eum shared on her SNS the account and photos of a non-celebrity Ms. A, writing, "Ugly. Please marry Youngdon. Can you just get divorced and go to Bangkok?"
After the post spread online, Ms. A responded with disbelief, saying, "(I am) not the mistress of Lee Youngdon targeted by Hwang Jung-eum. I did not even know who Lee Youngdon was, and he probably does not know I exist."
It was later revealed that Ms. A's friend, Mr. B, had the nickname "Lee Youngdon," and Hwang Jung-eum mistakenly identified Ms. A as the mistress just by seeing the name Lee Youngdon.
Ms. A's side warned that the photos Hwang Jung-eum posted spread online, leading to a flood of malicious comments, and threatened to sue for defamation if a correction and apology were not posted. Eventually, Hwang Jung-eum acknowledged her mistake in falsely identifying an innocent person as a mistress and posted two apology messages.
Hwang Jung-eum is currently undergoing divorce mediation with professional golfer-turned-businessman Lee Youngdon. The couple, who married in 2016, faced a divorce mediation crisis once before in 2020.
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