Lee Min Jung is facing backlash for comments about her husband Lee Byung Hun amid his past extortion scandal.
On the August 8 episode of KBS 2TV’s Heart on Wheels, Lee Min Jung shared stories about their early romance. She said her husband would drive three hours just to see her for 30 minutes while she was filming in the countryside.
Lee Min Jung told castmate Ahn Jae Hyun,
“I’m good at reading people,”
offering to help him find a girlfriend.
She added,
“If someone doesn’t have that level of passion—if they wouldn’t drive three hours just to see me—I’d be like, ‘Why bother?’”
The clip quickly went viral, but received mostly negative reactions online. Netizens criticized her for speaking publicly despite Lee Byung Hun’s 2014 cheating scandal that broke while she was pregnant with their first child.
In 2014, Lee Byung Hun was blackmailed for ₩5 billion KRW (about $3.6 million USD) by singer Dahee (of K-pop group GLAM) and model Lee Ji Yeon over a video of him making sexual jokes during a drinking event. The extortion was linked to Lee Byung Hun’s affair with Lee Ji Yeon, who threatened to release the video after he ended their relationship.
Both women were sentenced to prison for extortion. The scandal damaged Lee Byung Hun’s public image for a time.
Since then, Lee Min Jung and Lee Byung Hun have reconciled and remained publicly affectionate. They welcomed their second child, a daughter, in 2023.
Netizens responded,
- “It would be better not to talk about your husband.”
- “Why do both of them talk about all this on air?”
- “LOL.”
- “This seems like self-brainwashing.”
- “Yeah, right.”
The controversy is still gaining traction as fans question Lee Min Jung’s choice to highlight his past while recalling their romance.
