Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| Actress Han Ye-seul / Korea Times file |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Actress Han Ye-seul announced that she would take legal action against rumormongers, who have been spreading rumors about her "private life" and leaving malicious comments online.
Law firm Bae, Kim & Lee, who represent Han, vowed to file a libel suit against the rumormongers.
"We will file a complaint against rumormongers, including reporter-turned-YouTuber Kim Yong-ho, who made false accusations and maliciously slandered Han Ye-seul," a legal representative said in a statement. "We will also sue all YouTubers and online users after securing evidence."
Han said that the groundless rumors and malicious comments have inflicted "unbearable pain" on her.
"The more I tell you the truth, the more unspeakable videos spread online. Articles keep coming out with provocative headlines. The false rumors surrounding my private life have inflicted unbearable pain on me, and so I made up my mind to respond to them," Han said in a statement.
"Escort bars, drug use and even tax evasion…These humiliating stories will tag along with me like a curse for the rest of my life, and no one will take responsibility for my future. I will have to live stigmatized as a criminal, so I chose to break the silence."
The model-turned-actress, best known for her role in K-drama "Couple or Trouble" (2006), has been dogged by a string of scandalous allegations in recent weeks after she revealed her new boyfriend.
Reporter-turned YouTuber Kim alleged that the boyfriend, Ryu Sung-jae, whom Han introduced as a former theater actor, worked as a male escort in the past. Han denied the allegation, saying that Ryu worked at a karaoke bar, which she claimed was different from a male escort bar, and the two met after he had quit that job.
Kim also alleged that Han attended a party at the controversial Burning Sun night club and took drugs there.
The 40-year-old actress denied the allegations in a video uploaded to her YouTube channel, saying "People have been telling me not to respond to gossip, so I wasn't going to. But it's a whole different story when they associate me with the Burning Sun scandal and make me look like a drug addict."
Han's problems didn't die down even after she refuted his claims and asked the police and prosecution to investigate the rumors that she was at the center of the enormous nightclub scandal.
Most recently, allegations have been made that Han purchased a Lamborghini as a "company car" to evade taxes. Some people also questioned why Han registered her boyfriend as an employee of her company and paid him a monthly salary.
Han denied the tax evasion allegations, claiming every business expense was carried forward lawfully. Regarding her boyfriend, the actress said she offered him the job so he could help her at work.
