Grace Lee admits dating former Filipino President Aquino
By Ko Dong-hwan
Grace Lee / Courtesy of Zenith Media Contents website
Korean expat Grace Lee, a popular TV news personality in the Philippines, caused an online stir Tuesday after confessing that she went on dates with the country's former president Benigno Aquino III.
Appearing on TV talk show “Video Star” on MBC Every1, Lee said she dated the 15th president of the Philippines for about four months in 2012. But the star, 36, said their relationship “had not ripened to officially come out yet” as they were “simply interested in each other during the period.”
According to a 2012 Filipino media report, when her co-anchor on the TV show “Good Times in the Morning” asked how long the relationship with P-Noy ― President Aquino's nickname ― would last, she replied it will be “full length.” Asked where the dates would lead, she answered “the altar.”
“Our relationship was scandalized by local news outlets that said we were seriously going out and even about to get married,” said Lee, who had publicly admitted Aquino's claim that they were seeing each other. “So we couldn't develop our relationship further.”
Grace Lee, left, has been a popular Filipino TV personality. / Courtesy of Starmometer website
She said the scandal's toll was great and their relationship ― rather an odd matchup of a daughter from a Korean immigrant family and the president 22 years older ― suddenly became the subject of national gossip, dubbing her “P-Noy's newest love interest.”
Worn out, she left the country and stayed in Singapore with her younger sibling for three days while the Philippines was flooded with news of the pair.
On the MBC show, Lee described Aquino as “very smart, sympathetic, attractive in his professional world, and a good person who read a lot.”
After the scandal over her relationship with President Benigno Aquino III erupted in 2012, their whereabouts received strong media attention, leading to speculation about them marrying. / Courtesy of eastbound88.com
“We still keep in touch,” said Lee, who moved to the Philippines aged 10 and still holds South Korean citizenship.
The show caused a storm of reaction online, with Lee's name ranking top of search word lists on portals including Naver. Other searches related to news spotlighting who she is and how the journalist ― fluent in Korean, English and Filipino ― had contributed to bringing Manila and Seoul closer also heated up.
Lee, whose Korean name is Lee Kyung-hee, appeared on a KBS2 talk show in 2014. She said then that she had won a beauty pageant at Ateneo de Manila University, which she “entered because there were not enough contestants.” She earned a degree in Communication Arts at the school.
Lee started her professional career as an official interpreter for the presidential residence/office Malacanang Palace in Manila. She also hosted events for Korean-Filipino communities.
Lee is the only Korean expatriate in the Philippines to become an anchorwoman on a major TV network.
She started hosting Filipino TV shows in 2007 with “The Sweet Life” on Q. She was a host and anchorwoman on Studio 23, GMA Network, GMA News TV and a co-host on radio station Magic 89.9. Lee became anchorwoman for news programs “Aksyon as Umaga” and “Aksyon sa Tanghali” on TV5 in 2014.