By Kwaak Je-yup
Actress and entertainer Song Ji-hyo is dating her agency CEO, it was revealed Wednesday.
The actress best known for her role as a queen to Joo Jin-mo’s king in the 2008 period film “A Frozen Flower” (“Ssanghwajeom”), entered into a romantic relationship with Back Chang-ju, head of C-Jes Entertainment.
The agency is best known for signing the K-pop idol boy band JYJ, after the trio annulled their 13-year contract with SM Entertainment.
“I can confirm the couple is in a romantic relationship,” said a spokeswoman for C-Jes Entertainment on Wednesday.
Song was signed to the nascent talent management agency last July as the first actor on the roster. Until then, JYJ was the sole member.
The news first broke at Dispatch, a paparazzi-driven media modeled after the Hollywood and British tabloids, saying the romance had blossomed in December.
The spokeswoman said it was an even more recent development.
“It is a totally new beginning. It just began,” she said. “The media reports about the December date is false.”
Fans of SBS entertainment show “Good Sunday” took the news as a complete surprise, as Song and fellow cast member and rapper Garie had been developing a romantic angle on the show.
Garie is a member of hip hop duo LeeSsang.
Despite the runaway success of “A Frozen Flower,” Song’s career had not found momentum, rather getting more exposure on television since her appearance on “Good Sunday,” a constant hit with the weekend couch potatoes.
The agency has met no shortage of media brouhaha this year, as the distributor for a new JYJ documentary abruptly cancelled its release, just days before the official date ― sparking a flurry of conspiracy theories involving SM and its vendetta against its former labelmates.
C-Jes also manages the career of 20-year-old actor Park Yu Hwan, better known as the younger brother of JYJ’s Park Yuchun “Micky.”