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| Film director Hong Sang-soo, left, and actress Kim Min-hee after winning the Golden Leopard at the 68th Locarno Film Festival in Locarno, Switzerland, on Aug. 15, 2015. / Yonhap |
By Ko Dong-hwan
Korean film director Hong Sang-soo's alleged romantic relationship with actress Kim Min-hee ― despite a 22-year age difference ― appears to have deepened as he has started divorce proceedings.
Hong, 56, filed for divorce from his wife only referred to as Cho, 56, at the Seoul Family Court, Nov. 9, according to media reports.
An associate of Hong told News1 Korea that Hong and Cho's marriage "has already been destroyed" and Cho has been avoiding Hong, who has been trying to persuade her to divorce.
The settlement did not mention alimony or property division, which, according to the associate, will be discussed later.
Hong met Cho in the U.S., where he went to study, and married her in 1985. Netizens have said that Cho helped a lot with Hong's life in America. The two have a daughter who is a college student.
News of Hong's affair with Kim erupted in June this year. Hong met Kim during shooting of his romance film "Right Now, Wrong Then" (2015) that featured Kim as the heroine. The movie won the Golden Leopard at the 68th Locarno Film Festival last year and, after its release in the U.S. in June, was well received by American dailies.
In September last year, Hong allegedly told his family about his affair with Kim and left them. The next month, Cho sought out Kim, who blamed her for "not having taken good care of Hong."
Hong was expected to make his first public appearance since the scandal at the VIP showcase for the documentary "Goguryeo" at the Megabox cinema in COEX, Seoul, Nov. 15. But he did not turn up. He also did not attend the showcase for his 18th film, "Yourself and Yours."
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