We have another of those K-Pop stories that just keeps coming back in the news this week with the Kim Hyun Joong scandal back in the headlines. If you haven’t been following this one, it can be especially complicated due to the emotionally charged nature of people on each side of the debate… so here is my ‘Idiot’s Guide’ to catch you up to this point!
The initial accusation
The start of the story in the public eye was on the 21st and 22nd of August 2014, when the news hit that an ex-girlfriend (or current girlfriend, depending on the news you read) had filed charges for assault against Kim Hyun Joong of SS501. The accusations were at least enough for the police to need to look into it.
The girlfriend had painted a picture of a typical abusive relationship that had finally gone too far and there was at least enough evidence that assault and battery charges were filed against Kim Hyun Joong.
The web was ablur with speculation and people setting up camps on either side of the issue. Then a leisurely 24 hours later, the agency had clarified the situation and came out with a spectacularly ill-advised official statement in which they admit the girl was his girlfriend, they had known each other for 2 years and had been dating a few months. They also clarified that there had been a verbal argument which had turned physical, but it was a single occurrence and not part of ongoing abuse.
Not the world’s best defence right? It gets better. They went on to admit to him breaking her ribs, but claimed it was accident while they were joking around. I hate it when I accidentally break someone’s ribs don’t you?
This is when things got messy. Many people were quick to jump onto the bandwagon and throw Hyun Joong under the bus before anything had been decided and just as many fans decided to go the “Oppa wouldn’t do that” route, seemingly ignoring that the statement admitted he at least did something.
The girlfriend (referred to as ‘A’ in the press) released medical records and pictures of her alleged injuries. The internet detectives quickly claimed to have found evidence they were false, misleading or not incriminating.
After the dust settled, the only real facts the public had access to is that the documents were genuine, she admitted to lying in the hospital about how she got injured and while they proved her injury, they alone would not be the sole evidence needed.
Then things got messier
Roll forward to September 15th and the case reared its ugly head again. ‘A’ had apparently agreed to drop all charges in the event he admits wrong doing and apologises.
Lo and behold, an apology appeared. The apology seemed to hint heavily at an admission of at least partial guilt, but stops short of words that could be actually damning.
“Hello, this is Kim Hyun Joong.
I′m really sorry for giving the person I believed and loved for two years a lot of mental and physical pain with this incident. I′m embarrassed at myself for doing something that a man should never do.
Since this incident occurred entirely because of my mistakes, there is no reason for her to be blamed.
I apologize to her once again, and I want to also say sorry to her family and friends.
More than anything, I hope she will accept my apology and forgive me.
With this incident, I′ll work harder to become a better and healthier person.”
After this event the charges were dropped, with the young lady claiming that the apology was sufficient to satisfy her. Unfortunately, the story didn’t end here, as the charge to which he had confessed was passed on to prosecutors for further investigation as her word was no longer enough to end the investigation. The end result was a fine of 5 million Korean Won. (The charges were mitigated by the apology and a settlement figure paid to the victim.) What is interesting is that this result acknowledges a financial sum that the girlfriend had, at best, neglected to mention or, at worst, lied about deliberately.
The break up
According the Hyun Joong agency, but not declared at the time, the couple originally reconciled but agreed to go their separate ways at the end of 2014.
So that’s it, right? Case closed, job done and everyone happy? Wrong.
The pregnancy
February 2015 brought the announcement that brought this story back into the news when a rumour appeared that the ex-girlfriend was 10 weeks pregnant.
Most people assumed the pair were broken up during the lawsuit and this was when it came to light they had initially reconciled, with the agency explaining they had actually broken up at the end of the year finally and that Hyun Joong had been made aware of the pregnancy in January.
If the pregnancy was confirmed, the agency says Hyun Joong will take responsibility, but as of February claimed she had refused to provide any confirmation.
Her legal team claimed they have proof and that this had been submitted to Hyun Joong.
His agency then clarified that they were aware, however they wished to confirm the health and well being of the child and unfortunately this had not happened yet.
Marriage?
Rumours then began to circulate that a shotgun wedding would be under way. This is denied by the ex-girlfriend, who also published messages between the two that she feels will explain to people who were wondering why she took him back in the first place if her original claims were true.
More court time calls
We are now into May 2015 and the ex-girlfriend announces that she is filing a lawsuit against netizens for making malicious comments against her and causing her much distress. She also announced the intent to file a 1.6 billion Won lawsuit against Hyun Joong for distress caused and for the pregnancy as well as a suit against his lawyer. Lucky kid ehy?
Hyun Joong’s agency confirmed this was true.
The miscarriage and enlistment
Still in May 2015 (I know a lot’s happening right?) and confirmation is given that Hyun Joong is due to enlist for the military service on the 12th of the month and everyone is blindsided by a claim from his ex-girlfriend that she had been pregnant before and miscarried due to him.
He and his agency deny this, however admit they did pay a settlement to her in the past when she claimed she was going to spread publicly that he got women pregnant and then made them miscarry with his abuse. Her side claim that that settlement was in fact damages for the injuries she sustained.
May was rounded off with there apparently not being adequate evidence of her original miscarriage and clarification from Hyun Joong’s agency that if the current pregnancy is his child, he will take responsibility but they had yet to receive any proof it was his and that they would pursue this in court.
Counter lawsuit
July 2015 bought further developments to the case, with Kim Hyun Joong counter suing for blackmail, defamation and fraud. There was more ‘he said, she said’ back and forth and the ex-girlfriend ‘clarifying’ her story. Namely she had been pregnant, but the pregnancy had ended very early, she was then pregnant by him again and pressured into an abortion shortly before the assault that began all this. As evidence, she provided an assortment of text messages.
Hyun Joong’s side deny these claims and a further spanner is thrown into the works with the ex claiming that just after he made her get an abortion, she found him naked in bed with a celebrity known as ‘J’ in the press. Actress Jin Se Yeon is accused of being said celebrity, but this proves to be a false accusation.
August brought another lull in the story, when the ex-girlfriend specifically drops charges against Hyun Joong’s lawyer.
The birth
September 2015 rolls around – specifically the due date of September 12th. With many people suspecting no birth will happen, an announcement is made that the baby was born some days earlier, and that they need the father’s permission for a paternity test which they haven’t received and so they would be filing a paternity suit. The also stated that as she has no contact with Hyun Joong, they do not know if he knows that the baby was born.
Kim Hyun Joong’s side clarified that as he is enlisted they are not sure if he is aware of the birth, however their stance remains the same and if he is the father he will take responsibility. The lawsuits will continue regardless.
Phew….So that’s the bones of the case for any of you who needed to catch up!
Sources:(Naver)(Naver)(Naver)(Enewsworld)(Naver)(Nate)(Naver)(Naver)(Naver)(Naver)(Naver)(Stardium)(Joins)(Naver)(Naver)(Naver)(Mydaily)(Naver)(Chosun)
Where are your references to you claims? You should list them. We are after all talking about a criminal investigation with court cases and the law involved.
Wow – the amount of stuff (mainly stuff like evidence that Choi Hye Mi lied about a lot of stuff like that miscarriage) is legion here. You also state erroneously that the pictures and texts sold to Dispatch were submitted to the police and verified. BLATANTLY untrue. In fact the police (in 2014) said there was NOT anything to back up her claims except two medical certificates (one for 2-week bruising injuries – that one mutual fight – and the other for the 6-week rib injury that has subsequently been shown as the SECOND certificate she got for that – in the first one she said she got hurt at the gym, and only got a 3-week injury LOL). So obviously you are a bit biased here. The newest info – that criminal investigation against her – the police found the evidence substantial against her and sent it to the prosecutor. HE found the evidence showed her culpability (ie she lied etc) but he didn’t prosecute her since he seems to think there’s not enough evidence to show CRIMINAL intent. Whatever.
Am still rooting for him it’s just unfortunate that he met that girl if he only knew ,all she does is lie even if its was true she has lost sight of what she was fighting for …….. He should give her the money and forget about her , and this scandal , if his fans hate him for this then they are not his fans because u can clearly see she is trying to ruin him and am not buying it , keep fighting …. And am confused did she loose the baby or not ?
New updates! Choi Hye Mi lost that civil lawsuit BIG TIME that she filed against KHJ – the judge – note, NOT some prosecutor but a COURT of LAW & the presiding JUDGE – determined that not only would SHE not get any monetary rewards, but that she has to PAY KHJ a fine herself LOL The judge found no evidence backing her claims but evidence that showed her to have lied.
Then, just yesterday, the MILITARY court, where Choi Hye Mi filed another lawsuit against him for defaming her thru false charges, found that SHE’S the liar! They completely vindicated KHJ, and even ruled that the rib injury was not caused by him 😀
What’s pending now is the appeal KHJ’s legal team filed to a higher authority after that prosecutor decided that Choi Hye Mi, despite all the evidence showing she’d done all this stuff (lied, asked for money, pressured KHJ, etc etc etc) had no criminal intent. This is the criminal proceeding, and that prosecutor’s boss will now make a decision on whether she ‘meant it’ or not, and whether to charge her.
Thank you!
As you have pointed out, this is one biased blogger.
What else is new, when it comes to KHJ’s case.
I guess now those who are against him will accuse him & his agency of bribing the judge or whatever…
Of course that Ms crazy Choi is the ‘innocent victim’…
Felt nauseous every time some of those fanci-fool defenders ascribed her lunacy to his ‘abuse’ of her…
Thank you teleri for staying on this case and having the best info. I am always happy to read your comments.
You are welcome 😀 I do try! I despise injustice wherever I see it, & when it involves a bias of mine I really see red LOL
More updates! KHJ left military service attended by over 1500 fans. So much for his ‘dead’ career LOL Choi Hye Mi, meanwhile, has been indicted by the prosecutors after KHJ’s appeal to a higher authority was granted – very unusual in SK – & her CRIMINAL trial starts the end of March!
Do you know what has happened during the March 30, 2017 criminal trial against Choi Hye Mi? All I read about is the drunk driving headlines. More negative news about KHJ, but no one seems to want to report on the trial outcome. I am sorry about his charges and hope he gets help to stop drinking, and that he insists on shorter working hours and gets more sleep. That said, I still perceive such media bias against him. I wonder how the rest of us would fare if we were under such a public spotlight?
KHJ is being called as a witness at the next hearing. There is tons of media bias against him. This whole ‘drunk’ driving thing – when the levels are that low (ie just barely over the limit) it’s actually ‘driving under the influence’ – and he really had problems because he was exhausted. Being fatigued DOES impair driving, and having a couple drinks on top of that caused him to fall asleep at that intersection. He should not have been driving, but I can see where he & his friends didn’t think it a problem due to only a couple drinks.
~sigh~
The hypocrisy shown over this – the way the trolls have come out again screaming for his head as if this somehow lends validity to the Choi Hye Mi case, just nauseates me. I first got into this back in August 2014 because I could not believe how vitriolic some of these anti-fans were (although I’ve been a fan of KHJ’s since BoF). Those virulent haters are still there, screaming for blood 🙁
Thank you. I am a grandmother and a kindergarten teacher. I started watching KDramas a few years ago.
I watched BOF and found it really hard to watch. But I was intrigued by Hyun Joong’s quiet character. Then Netflix had Playful Kiss and I tried twice to get past the first two episodes. I couldn’t manage it, but came back after watching a few more dramas and stuck with it. It was an amazingly sweet and funny story. I went back and forth between supporting her character and then his. His mom drove me crazy, but she was so cute and sweet to Oh Hani. I have watched it many times since then, and never tire of it. Some critics of KHJ said he gave a wooden performance, but I believe his portrayal of Seung Cho was subtle and amazing. I was shocked when I first heard the beating reports, but. decided to wait and see. Boy am I glad I did. I am convinced that there is some kind of conspiracy toward him, and I believe that people are following him around just to catch him at something, and make another spectacle. He needs to travel with sober bodyguards all of the time.
I pray for him regularly, and have been impressed by his calm, sweet and funny personality on WGM and other shows.
By the way, my other two over watched Kdramas are My Love From the Star, and Queen InHyun’s Man.
Thanks for your quick answer.
😀 Agree with you about KHJ – he reminds me of so many young men I’ve known. I like those 2 dramas myself. You should watch Shopping King Louis if you like those two. My fav drama is Healer, tho. I’ve seen over 250 KDramas – I really prefer them to American TV. BTW I’ve also taught – HS OMG!!! LOL
Thanks, and I agree HS! Yikes. That takes a special person. Take care.
Thankyou! Finally, a page with the correct information ( including Teler…’s corrections) I want to add that Ms. Choi’s rib was fractured not broken, and she obtained the bruisession at the gym & it was witnessed by people at the gym. There was no evidence for pregnancies or miscarriages. ( I have FURTHER QUESTIONS because no saw her baby bump because she hid out. Furthermore I heard her sister was pregnant. Then no news about the sister’s baby. I would like to see if the doctors can confirm she had a baby and if she is the mother by DNA testind. I dobut the results of the DNA test. The dates are wrong. Her pregnancy started weeks before the contrived Jeju Island date and make-up / breakup sex. ( Poor naive Hyun Joong! I tried to message him when I saw he was trying to console her. I knew she would try the pregnant scam!) I am a old noona. I know the game. There was something wrong, because Ms. CHoi kept backing down from going to the doctor and getting a pregnancy test. That is NOT Hyun Joong’s son. He saw FAKE DNA results Someone BIG paid that off. Hyun Joong just get your alleged son and RE-TESTED by DNA. PLEASE!!!!
This is important though.. Hyun Joong was set up from the beginnings. He was introduced to this girl. I believe DSP is spiteful & behind trying to ruin him. Hyun Joong, as Leader of SS501 protected ALL the members, and DSP was furious. DSP tried to trick them by calling in each member separately to renew their contracts. The first 4 members including Hyun Joong signed DSP, but they PURPOSELY left Kyu Jong for last & wouldn’t sign him. Hyun wasn’t having it and stood up to DSP. TAKE ALL or NONE . DSP would not let them join another agency, and wouldn’t let them perform with Kyu ( at least not NEW songs). Hyun Joong’s insistence to keep all 5 original members cost them the group. He took reponsibility for the decisions of the group as Leader in his usual style. He never backs down from being a man who takes responsibility. DSP wanted to show their POWER & who was BOSS. So they are punishing him. I believe they are the backing & power behind Ms. Choi. DSP … I hate them.. I can’t even PRINT some the the other evil, dispicable, spiteful, predatory stuff they have done to other groups …like KARA . They don’t care about young people. Stupid Ms Choi could have had it ALL – love, marriage, baby- if she’d played her cards right. But Hyun joong didn’t want her. He knew her a couple years, but really only dated her a couple months & was trying to end it.
Choi is certainly one scary woman, KHJ has been proved to be father, but is Choi the mother? It would be worth investigating the female relative who allegedly gave birth at same time? Basting is a very real possibility, as Choi had reproductive issues. I don’t know if that would be preferable as although KH J is a playboy, and that is up to him as he is single and the women willing, Choi knew what KHJ was like but still went after someone who did not want to be tied down or make a commitment. I don’t buy her excuse it was because she loved him, she was obsessed with KHJ that is not love, if Choi couldn’t have him she wanted to damage and hurt him, when you really love someone but the feeling is not returned you let go and want them too have a happy life (I speak from my own experience) Choi has anger/mental issues. It could also be KHJ is suffering the backlash for the 4 other celebrities who dumped her.
I also saw somewhere on the Internet that she wasn’t doing well trying to get commercials, she is older than Hyun joong, and dated 4 other celebrities and tried to pull the pregnancy scam before.
You know, sperm can be collected in a condom & brought in for artificial insemination, or frozen for later use too. ( I have an acquaintance who owned a sperm bank.) Ms. Choi was having difficulty matching her numbers of weeks pregnant with her dates conception with Hyun Joong. She presented faulty sonogram that were too far along to her inception dates.
I don’t know (few know besides Choi Hye Mi & cronies) why she pulled all the iffy stunts she did to get out of open, uncomplicated pregnancy & DNA testing – I’ve always thought she really didn’t know who the baby daddy was (ie more than one candidate) – & yep, she could have had a baster baby… The fact that she didn’t even tell KHJ about the birth for nearly 2 weeks, & drug her feet about DNA testing while shrilly & falsely accusing HIM of doing so – OMG that anyone believed her amazes me!
This should be investigated far too many?.
Ms. Choi refused to go to the doctor wit Hyun Joong or his parents, and she refused to move forward with the DNA testing unless she & the baby & Hyun Joon went TOGETHER There is a reason for that (besides being annoying & manipulative to KHJ) . Ms. CHoi insisted on going TOGETHER with Hyun Joong so she or paid off accomplice could mix up the baby’s DNA samples & switch them for Hyun joong’s hair & saliva. (i.e. they would be comparing Hyun Joong’s DNA samples with himself. ) That did not get passed me for a second. So orchestrated. … and of course a 99.99% MATCH!
I have just found this site, I am a fan of KHJ, I found the information below very interesting. KHJ has had a narrow escape, from this relationship, I’m sure KHJ has reflected and will be wiser in the future.
I note one of the comments she has dated 4 other celebrities claiming pregnancy as well, if this is true enough said.