Popular actress Kim Min-hee, who has been in a 10-year extramarital affair with director Hong Sang-soo since 2015, has revealed that she is due to give birth this spring, further igniting controversy. Reports suggest she became pregnant last summer.
However, Hong Sang-soo is still legally married to his wife A, with whom he shares an adult daughter. This triggers discussion about whether the wife will finally accept the divorce or continue to maintain her legal marital status. Some also expressed regret that Kim Min-hee basically wasted her stellar acting career in pursuing an extramarital affair.
Furthermore, questions were raised regarding the registration of Hong Sang-soo’s illegitimate child and the child’s rights to inheritance.
Legal perspective on family registration
On January 17, lawyer Park Kyung-nae discussed the issue of Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee’s illegitimate child, saying: “Before the abolition of the Hoju system (a patriarchal family registry system), for a child to be added to the father’s family registry, the father had to report the birth, which often resulted in the child being legally listed as the father’s child and his legal spouse.”
The lawyer then added: “However, with the abolition of the Hoju system and the implementation of the Family Relationship Registration Law, Kim Min-hee can register the birth of her child under her name, even if she remains unmarried. If Hong Sang-soo recognizes the child, the child can be added to his family registry. In these cases, the parentage certificate would list “mother” as Kim Min-hee and “father” as Hong Sang-soo. However, Hong Sang-soo’s legal wife, A, would still be recognized as his wife in his registry, even if the daughter was listed.
Inheritance questions
Hong Sang-soo is rumored to have inherited a fortune of 120 billion won (about $83 million) from his late mother. Her mother, the late Jeon Ok-soon, was a prominent figure in the film industry and is known as the first female film producer in Korean popular arts. She has also reportedly committed to publishing in Japan.
Lawyer Kim Mi-ru addressed the issue of inheritance, stating: “Illegitimate children continue to be considered children by law and are included in the hereditary order as direct descendants pursuant to Article 1 of the Civil Code. They are therefore naturally entitled to a share of the inheritance. If Hong Sang-soo inherited considerable wealth from his mother, then the illegitimate son would also have a right to it.
The succession relationship was also discussed under the assumption that Director Hong and his wife A do not divorce.
According to lawyer Kim Mi-ru, if the spouse receives 1.5, the children receive 1 each.
So when asked if Director Hong’s wealth is estimated at 120 billion won, his wife A can receive about 3/7, Lawyer Kim said, “Of course, that can happen, but it’s something that needs to be considered when inheriting. Whether it will necessarily be the legal inheritance share is something that needs to be considered.”
Furthermore, even if Hong Sang-soo left a will stating that he would give all his assets only to Kim Min-hee and his illegitimate son, only a reserved portion can be claimed by Kim Min-hee and his illegitimate son.
In this case only 50% of the legal inheritance share can be recognized, so the wife will inherit a significantly smaller sum, but Kim Min-hee will not get everything.
Possibility of requesting compensation for damages
Lawyer Kim Mi-ru also commented on the possibility of Hong Sang-soo’s legal wife, A, filing a damages lawsuit against Kim Min-hee for spousal damages, saying, “Yes, it’s possible.”
Meanwhile, it is claimed that rumors that Hong Sang-soo inherited a fortune of 120 billion won are false and that the apartment the couple currently lives in was purchased with Kim Min-hee’s money.
On January 20, the YouTube channel “Entertainment President Lee Jin-ho” uploaded a video mentioning Kim Min-hee and Hong Sang-soo.
In the video, Lee Jin-ho addressed rumors that Hong Sang-soo had inherited 120 billion won, stating: “This is fake news. Hong Sang-soo is the youngest of three brothers. If the youngest inherited 120 billion won, how much would his older brothers receive?“
He continued: “It doesn’t make sense. According to my investigation, although it is true that Hong Sang-soo grew up in a wealthy family, the claim of an inheritance of 120 billion won is completely false. If he had inherited such a fortune, the large taxes would have prevented this from going unnoticed by the tax industry. Furthermore, if the rumors are true, Kim Min-hee’s current lifestyle would reflect much greater wealth.“
Lee Jin-ho also commented on Kim Min-hee’s simplified lifestyle. He stated: “In 2015, Kim Min-hee lived in a mansion in Hannam-dong worth over 10 billion won. After her relationship with Hong Sang-soo began, she moved to Hanam. The two currently live in an apartment worth about 1.4 billion won. It is very likely that Kim Min-hee contributed her own money to this property.”
