One of South Korea’s high actors apologised after it was revealed he fathered a baby with a girl he isn’t married to, sparking nationwide scrutiny in a rustic the place births outdoors marriage are nonetheless seen as taboo.
Jung Woo-sung, an A-lister in South Korea’s aggressive movie trade since his debut within the Nineteen Nineties, made headlines this week after his company confirmed the 51-year-old actor is the organic father of mannequin Moon Ga-bi’s son born in March.
Days earlier, Moon, 35, revealed she had just lately grow to be a mom, with out disclosing the id of the kid’s father. A neighborhood news report claimed that the mannequin had needed to marry Jung to “provide her child with a family”, however the actor declined.
Although Jung vowed to “fulfil his responsibilities” as a father, his silence on plans to marry Moon sparked intense backlash, with many calling him “irresponsible”, in a society the place deep-seated stigmas towards single moms and their youngsters persist.
“I am truly sorry to all those who have shown me love and believed in me for the concern and disappointment I have caused,” Jung stated late Friday as he took the stage as a presenter on the Blue Dragon Film Awards.
“I will accept and bear all the criticism. As a father, I will fulfil my responsibilities to my son until the very end.”
Jung has lengthy cultivated a scandal-free picture, and had served as a goodwill ambassador for the UN refugee company for practically a decade till July.
Critics this week have in contrast the infant’s state of affairs to that of refugees — highlighting the stigma confronted by youngsters of single moms.
“He has talked so much about (welcoming) refugees, yet he has made his own son a refugee,” stated one commenter on a news web site.
One lawmaker from the opposition Democratic Party voiced help for accepting totally different household buildings in South Korean society.
“The reality is that everyone is unique,” stated lawmaker Lee So-young, who added that her mother and father divorced when she was younger.
“A society that respects these differences would surely be a better society, wouldn’t it?”
Only 4.7 % of South Korean infants final 12 months had been born outdoors of marriages, one of many lowest amongst 38 developed nations the place the typical is round 40 %.
South Korea has been battling the world’s lowest delivery charges and plummeting marriage charges.
Experts say a contributing issue could possibly be the nation’s slender authorized definition of what a household entails.
They level out that courtroom approvals for the adoption of a kid by an single particular person are extraordinarily uncommon, looking for sperm donation is successfully banned for single girls, and same-sex marriages should not legally recognised.
© 2024 AFP