After what felt like an interminable wait from Kim Hyun Joong‘s agency Keyeast in responding to the news reports that the police was investigating the singer-actor for assault and battery on his girlfriend, the agency has just released an official statement that reeks of spin. Sadly even the most adept spin doctor can do nothing in mitigating the damaging allegations of this case other than for it to be completely false and he’s never met the accuser in question much less beat her up in the context of a romantic relationship. The fact that Keyeast went radio silent for over a day before responding is telling – Kim Hyun Joong is in Thailand for a concert so the agency knows how to reach him and if the allegations were false then one quick phone call and one vehement denial would be sufficient for the agency to release the usual strong statement of denial and vow to counter-sue for the false accusations. You know the drill.
The fact that Keyeast did neither logically concludes that it was massaging the statement to come up with something as plausible and mitigating for their star. I’ll translate the statement below but I’m quite sad actually. I really was quite fond of Kim Hyun Joong after he was Baek Seung Jo in Playful Kiss, the first drama I ever recapped and totally the reason why I kept on writing about K-dramas. He’s not a good actor by any measure but I saw improvement from Boys Before Flowers to PK and he was actually quite decent in Age of Feeling (Inspiring Generation). My impressions of his acting career notwithstanding, this whole incident is enough to make me write him off going forward even if he was a Baeksang winner and South Korea’s best actor. The domestic violence case is still pending and the full investigation needs to take place, but going by his agency’s statement which corroborated the most critical elements of the allegations, common sense and logic tells me I won’t be able to enjoy watching him act anymore.
Keyeast confirmed that the accuser in question is Kim Hyun Joong’s girlfriend but countered that they only started dating recently though they have known each other since 2012. The agency admitted that the two got into a “physical altercation” that started with a very heated argument that turned physical. The agency denied that there was habitual or continuous physical violence and it was a one time incident. As for the broken rib allegation, the agency claimed that the girlfriend did get a broken rib but it wasn’t recent and happened awhile ago when the couple was fooling around and she didn’t even know about it since she went out the next day with her girlfriends. Keyeast is upset that all the reports so far have been one-sided and plans to cooperate fully with the authorities in their investigation so the full truth is revealed. For now Kim Hyun Joong will complete the tour dates that he’s scheduled for and afterwards will focus on dealing with this case.
As a lawyer it’s my job to focus on the confirmed facts and pierce through wordsmithing bullshit so let’s get to it. This isn’t going to be pretty for fans still wishing oppa didn’t do it but here are the facts as been agreed upon by both sides.
1. The accuser is not some delulu fangirl or psycho with a grudge, she is in fact Kim Hyun Joong’s girlfriend. Maybe not current girlfriend since she is pressing charges against him so chances are they are broken up, but she was his girlfriend during the alleged incidents. Keyeast wanting to clarify that they only dated recently and not since 2012 like the girlfriend is claiming is important – the shorter the dating duration the less the girlfriend can allege continuous or repeated physical abuse. But it’s also a fact that the two have known each other since 2012. I think this fact can end all arguments that Kim Hyun Joong is being framed or set up by a crazy girl who he doesn’t even know.
2. She did get beat up and the first physical violence incident is true, the one that led to the girlfriend being hospitalized for two weeks with injuries to the arms, legs, chest, and buttock. She submitted to the police a hospital report so there is documented evidence that she was hospitalized, for how long, and for what injuries. Keyeast is explaining it as a verbal fight escalated into physical but stressed it was a solo incident. Er….that’s all it takes to be an abuser. And that is not an explanation or acceptable excuse at all! Unless Kim Hyun Joong is dating She-Hulk, chances are he’s bigger, taller, and stronger than her. The facts also show that in the incident in question, Kim Hyun Joong clearly walked away just fine since he was out doing all his promotional activities and star gigs. Whereas she ended up in the hospital for two weeks. Even if the fight was mutual and both went at each other, that is no excuse for the stronger individual to lay a beat down to subdue the other. The only acceptable reaction to an escalating fight is to WALK AWAY and end it.
3. She did have a broken rib – I can’t even discuss how anyone with a brain is going to believe she broke her rib due fooling around with Kim Hyun Joong, whatever that entails. Unless Kim Hyung Joon is secretly a MMA fighter who doesn’t know his strength and their foreplay involved reenacting scenes from his last drama Age of Feeling where she plays the thugs he’s fighting onscreen, then there is no fucking way a rib is ever broken in mere fooling around between two average adults doing normal playful things. Don’t believe me, read this article. Then we are told she didn’t notice the broken rib is so preposterous I can’t even. I’d fucking notice if I got an owie on my pinky, much less cracking a rib on my rib cage that is intended to protect all my major internal organs. So Keyeast claims that the rib was broken in an earlier incident unrelated to the admitted physical violence incident, and she was so unaware that only later did she go to the hospital to get treated for 6 weeks for the injury. Epic fail spinning into a dead end, Keyeast.
I’m just glad that the girl in question got medical treatment for her injuries and got out while she’s still alive. Partner abuse is the classic example of a frog in slow boiling water, starts small and slowly escalates before the victim realizes the extent and severity of the abuse. This time I have a really strong opinion and one doesn’t need to wait for the full investigation since the facts as admitted by Keyeast is enough for me to say buh bye to Kim Hyun Joong.
InB4 the innocent until proven guilty people – that an agency is admitting all the key facts is all the proof of guilt that you need. They’re scared and will probably try to buy this girl off.
Well people were pointing fingers even before there was a statement by Keyeast agency…that is something I have a problem with.
However, the agency’s statement coupled with supposedly new evidence presented by dispatch taboid/’news'(that I’d rather see confirmed by police rather than a tabloid) if true, make the accuser’s case much stronger. With the way it looks, Kim Hyun Joong’s career is in jeopardy.
I am seriously praying for this girl not to give into Keyeast if they do try to buy her off. If the accusations are true (which is more than likely) then she needs to go through with this case.
Well this makes watching any of his dramas impossible. Listening to any of his music and even that of SS501 is hard as well. I’ve lost a lot of respect for him now. As much of as I’m a fan of his, this is unacceptable. As you said he is likely to be bigger and stronger than his girlfriend so he should have been the bigger person and walked away. He’ll probably be able to have a career still but it’ll will be like Chris Brown to me, I like his music but I feel so conflicted listening to it.
The fact that the agency didn’t even try to sell an exterior cause for her bruises (hiking accident!) Is telling. Can he even finish his tour? Surprised the police didn’t summon his ass in Korea ASAP.
Really a sad affair for everyone involved.
This is actually what did it for me. Many cases the agency will deny or give other possibilities but Keyeast didn’t do that. It’s quite telling–he did something horrible and they’re scrambling to fix it.
I admit this one has me STUNNED. I am not a fangirl at all, but I have always liked KHJ since his time in WGM. I TOTALLY bought that whole “gentle 4d guy” image. Wow…just wow. I hope he doesn’t get away with this.
The worst part about him admitting to doing it while “playing” is the fact that he is such a big guy. They call him a flower boy but if you pay attention he is not typically slender like most flower boys with the just for show abs. He is broad shouldered and pretty muscular even when he isn’t ripped. There is no way his girlfriend was a physical match.
Disgusting.
I am irritated at the girlfriend for reporting the incident only because she found him cheating. What’s is wrong with the woman? She should have reported him right away after she ended up in hospital instead of ‘reconciling’ then going public much later because he cheated again.
Clearly hell has no fury like a woman scorned but she put herself in danger and it is lucky she didn’t end up being killed. And it smacks of blackmail. Stop being pathetic girl! Grow a spine with your rib and get out of violent relationships! You may not be so lucky the next time!
I am terribly disappointed with KHJ – I liked him best next to LMH in BOF. This is a huge reminder that what we all fantasize about in the kdrama world are the products of imagination of a writer out there – reality may actually suck!
Eh no he beat her because she confronted him about him cheating. Then she reported it.
What I mean is she didn’t report him because he cheated but because he beat her. I’m not sure why you thought it was that way.
You sound ignorant of the cycle of abuse and somewhat sexist tbh.
OMFG you are actually blaming the victim here?!?!!? Are you f**king serious?!?!? I bet you slut-shame rape victims too. Why don’t you read up on domestic violence and learn about how abusers are able to take control and convince their victims to remain silent before you go posting such a completely ignorant and hateful comment like that. I truly hope that nobody you know ever becomes a victim of domestic violence, because they clearly will NOT have a decent support system in you. You disgust me.
I am blaming her for not reporting him the first time she was hit after she confronted him – instead she ‘reconciled’ with him. This was what I read in some of the reports that it wasn’t the first time as DQ pointed out.
She only reported him when he beat her subsequently after another confrontation.
Women need to learn to walk away from the relationship once violence kicks in! You can’t hope to change a man who thinks the only way to resolve issues is to bully or intimidate.
No second chances – your second chance may be a permanent rest if he beats you up so badly that you die from it!
No man is worth that!
Hi Ceecile – I am angry with her not reporting him the minute he was violent with her but only after he cheated on her a second (or more) time. this is how a lot of victims of violence end up in the mortuary – but staying in the relationship. I am not under the impression she reported him only because he cheated on her.
Violence in a relationship should never be tolerated. She should have walked out the first time he laid a hand on her – she is lucky she didn’t even up being killed like a lot of women who stay in violent relationships in the hope that the man will change for her.
Come on he is KHJ so that girlfriend must be harping all hopes he will repent and be her nice handsome bf after 1st incident. 2nd incident got her hospitalized for 6 weeks maybe that’s a wake up call for her to be alive and be ex gf rather than dead and his gf
am not a fan of his but he does strike me as a hardworking, dedicated person. and for that kind of personality to impose his strength over another person, it’s quite disturbing. it’s just sad how news on entertainment personalities’ behaviours (alleged or otherwise) are getting worse, and of course, these are just the ones that get to the media. i think it’s becoming an indication of how much pressure the industry dynamics are putting on its artists. even the thought of these agencies trying to spin and cover up these issues are getting convoluted. sad.
Alcohol involvement and stress explains his aggressive behavior. His fridge was full of alcohol. When he is drunk who knows what he is capable of
Alcohol may well have been a factor. It may be an explanation but should never be used as a justification. What I mean is that just because he was drunk, it doesn’t mean his actions are excusable. I have spent many many years living with someone with a drinking problem. That person was fine when sober, but turned into a raging monster when drunk. The next day, they would act all normal, saying they couldn’t remember what they did when drunk. That was total bullshit.
Well they basically admitted that he is guilty. Their defense regarding the broken rib is ridiculous! I hope justice will be served. He’s probably going to lie low and enlist in the army.
I dont think his life in the army will be easy on him. Women beater is just not a admirable trait, I think he may get into trouble in the army. But on the other hand, if he is convicted of the crimes, he will likely be jailed first. Public outrage on this case is quite big in Korea, if he is found guilty, I dont think the judge can let him out with just a warning. The injuries on the victim sounds very bad.
I think it’s disgusting that they are trying to suggest that the broken rib was during ‘rough play’. It reminds me of the Central Park murder case when the guy claimed he strangled the girl during rough sex.
It will be interesting how other celebs will react to his case.
I am pretty shocked that he just basically admitted like, “No big deal, I cracked her ribs . We physically fought some times. Now she wants to cry about it. rme.” WTF is that statement? is his fans acctually believe this crap ?!! and And they say she did not notice she’d been hurt too. The way they describe her, you’d think she’s the incredible hulk or something.!!
Well, we all know who gets the benefit of the odds now. I’m actually a bit sad to see such a talent go to waste. He IS a good singer. His agency’s vague admission only proves that they’re doing as much as they can to stop any more news from breaking or facts coming to fore.
I’m still not sure why Keyeast isn’t dumping his disgusting ass as soon as they heard most or all of the allegations were in fact, true. It’s baffling – both KHJ’s actions and the following statement. The official stance are in the lines of – yea, there was physical violence, but since it isn’t as often as she’s claiming it to be, you all should just forget it happened.
WOW.
I’m admittedly shocked there aren’t a hoard of fangirls coming to his rescue unlike in PSH’s case. I do admit the waters there were much more muddy, but still. I expected a lot more support for a bigger Hallyu star.
PSH’s fans are known to be in the whole different level than most of normal fangirls
A lot of rape cases are “he said she said” unless there is physical evidence of violence, which there was not in PSH case. Thus, it’s a lot easier for fangirls to hand wave away a PSH situation and say that they believe PSH that this was a consensual encounter.
In a situation where a long term girlfriend has hospital reports that show severe physical damage and where even the star’s agency does not deny he is responsible, it becomes much harder to take the usual “oppa didn’t do it” line.
Let me put it this way – if one really wants to believe PSH is innocent, there is wiggle room to allow a fangirl to keep her delusions. With KSH, it would require not just some willful blindness but active denial of the facts.
Why bring PSH name in this case. At least, the best thing about this case is We don’t hear the testimony of A,B,C..Z unlike PSH’s case! And The progress of this case does not appear everyday!! And NO media circus!
seriously, people get dumped by agencies and banned from tv for smoking marijuana. Physical abuse of a woman is an even more serious matter, I’d expect to see a lot of cancelled CFs for him now.
And he better not even try to make a comeback on Korean tv, the public is clearly not having any of it.
When the news first broke out I thought it was unusual that Keyeast kept quiet because it was such a strong allegation that one would think they strongly deny it and vow to seek any charges against her for false allegation. Sometimes, silence is a powerful voice than the actual voice itself.
For anyone with a mind, there’s no horseplay that can break someone ribs. It takes tremendous physicality to do that kind of bodily harm. Imagine the pain the girl is going through. And for Keyeast to say that with a straight face is just beyond me.
He did it once, physically hurt her once. Well, that excuse to justify the abuse would not fly. All it takes is that one time. He should know better because he has the advantage over his then girlfriend, strength wise and size wise. They were no match.
And some of his fans still stick by him, believing in him and even to make them feel good about their choice to stick by their idol, says that she is doing it for the money. It’s quiet sad, that idol worshippers are willing to put something as serious as abuse aside and blindly support such behavior. She was hurt until hospitalized. I asked would anyone of the girls willing to put up with a guy that gives them a broken rib(s)?
And what irks me is the fact that Keyeast answered about the broken rib with such great nonchalant. It’s not a big thing the rib was broken..since they were fooling around and it wasn’t a repeated thing cause it happened just once where he physically hurt her. WTF is that!
I felt the same way. Their admitting that it only happened once is akin to an alcoholic who says they only had one drink. So often the abuse cycle is repeated where the abuser beats, then apologizes. There’s a honeymoon period and then the cycle begins again. The agency’s statements pretty much affirms that something happened whether it was once or multiple times the fact is it happened at least once.
KHJ should not be protected and all of his fan girls should not accept this as normal behavior or something that should be forgiven. The one needing support should be the victim of his abuse.
The girlfriend must have very strong evidence that they didn’t even bother to deny everything. I hope he gets punished and he doesn’t buy his way out of it.
I hope the girlfriend has a strong support system that will shield her from all the attacks she will get from his delulu fans and agency. I hope she remains strong and doesn’t go back to him no matter how he begs, etc.
Dear Mrs Koala, thank you for sharing your legal opinion on the case at this point. The media frenzy over such scandal will not end soon with new facts/releases ahead, so your perspective as a lawyer should prove to be insightful yet again.
Since the Dispatch report, his fanbase and fandom have been understandably very active to support him while Henecians have been made fun of, described as brainless or immature, unwilling to see beyond their image of a “perfect oppa”. I know of a very mature lady who became acquainted with him a few years back. I can only imagine the phases/feelings she has gone through – hurt, disbelief, anger, doubt and probably the determination to believe that KHJ did not betray her trust in him and deceived her. My heart goes out to you, Deanna.
Thanks for the update and the analysis of the statement. It pretty much ends any speculation. The police have the evidence; they need to arrest him as soon as he sets foot in Korea.
I felt sick to my stomach all day yesterday at work, reading from my phone the news and the reactions from his fanbase.
From these girls, I would expect outrage that a woman person suffered at the brutal hands of a much larger person. I expect support for the victim as she has to face media scrutiny from the entire world. She has to tell all the citizens who voted KHJ in the many many “Netizens Choice” contests that she loved him and he hurt her.
These are girls, I am assuming, who love the idea of Leader Oppa as a romantic fantasy. The fantasy is inaccurate at best and needs to disappear. They need to drop him and move on.
“We believe in your KHJ. We will stand by you KHJ.” Really?
Why? Is he being picked on unfairly? Is a larger person than him beating him? If the ugly old man next door admitted to hitting his girlfriend “just once” would they have the same reaction?
I am praying for the girl and all the other people = though statistics say it is mostly woman and children – of the world who suffer abuse every day. That they get out and survive once they do.
Just fyi, Jomo, surprisingly or not, women and ladies (as well as boys/men) have joined fandoms or fanbases, whether KHJ’s or other k-celebs. Kindly referred to as “imo” (aunts), they sometimes are the singer/actor’s mother’s age or much older.
That is true.
I know many ladies past 30 who are fans.
Do you think the older people are in the “I believe you, KHJ.” group?
If they have lived in the world, they have seen abuse and wouldn’t be as sure of his innocence is my assumption.
My guess is, that some older Henecians may very well be in the “I believe KHJ is innocent” group and strictly speaking, they are right. Key East’s statement is suspicious, to say the last, yet I who is not biased towards him am cautious regarding the various elements released to the public, as I do not work in a law firm, nor as a prosecutor or a Seoul police officer. Therefore, it makes sense that his fans would be extra cautious, maybe torn between wanting to support him and having doubts. If a trial occurs and leads to his conviction, “time to reflect on his actions” will not suffice. If he indeed is prone to resort to physical abuse, whether under influence or not, then he will need all the support he can get to decide to go into therapy and see it until the end, for his own benefit, not just for his career. But I’m getting ahead of myself, since his situation might be resolved differently.
Jomo,
My idol has feet of clay.
Sad sad day for me today.
There, there, YY
You can have your crying cry.
🙁
PS His Mexico concert was cancelled. It was supposed to be 9/12.
This is why you shouldn’t hire former kdrama writers to do PR. Uh, yea buh-bye KHJ.
In just 2 months of dating (according to keyeast), all these happened? What kind of dating relationship is this. Even if the 6 weeks rib thing isn’t his doing, the fact remains he did physically injure her once. Once is good enough that to get u jailed.
It’s so stupid, isn’t it? They’re trying to make it seem like he was just ‘defending’ himself, and that the ex is indeed she-hulk. Sometimes if I don’t stretch before a workout my ribs would cramp/tighten. It’s the worst ever. My coworker is pregnant and when her baby kicks her ribs she can’t help but scream in pain. How can anyone not know they injured a rib? Key east could have said he was suffering from some mental illness and I would have actually believed that a little more. Nowadays I feel like companies help big time in screwing up their own artists.
Gotta admit it though, I can’t help but first be skeptical about girls that get into scandals like this. But as soon as Key East let out their statement I felt guilty. So disappointed. My mom is a big ahjumma fan of his, told her this morning and she was so shocked. The masks that people wear are so damn scary. I been burned a lot by actors/idols that I liked in the past. I try to stay away from personal interviews, and “BTS” footage, and focus solely on the work of the actor/artist… But I get sucked into their charms again and again. It’s like this in the ‘real’ world too. So many fake people, you only ever realize it until they rip you apart.
Honestly, not surprised. I’ve known guys like him who seemed sweet but would get upset (crazy upset) at the drop of a hat. He also always had this quiet intensity in his eyes that seemed he was holding back, repressing things but that’s just personal observation. I’m not even a fan or anything but will state, IF it’s true, I feel for the victim because it must have been a nightmare to be knowing his monster side and getting beat up while the public thought he was a saint of some sort. I hope she was encouraged and not discouraged by loved ones to press charges. Either way, I admire her for her strength and hope she gets the help she needs to heal from this. I also pray there aren’t any other victims out there.
Hope his career is actually over if it’s true. It wouldn’t happen if he was in US entertainment though (ex: Chris Brown and Sean Penn)
As far as explanations or apologies go (from stars or their agencies), that’s the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen.
I wasn’t a fan of KHJ as an “actor” or as a “singer” (I really hesitate to call him that), but I liked him in “We Got Married”.
It’s obvious this guy’s career is over. I’m just surprised they haven’t cancelled his activities yet.
Sad… A bug guy line that beat up a smaller woman. The fact that his agency admitted a physical assault even once is telling she has strong evidence. A broken rib is Extremely painful . No way u would not notice.
The agency is counting on the remaining $$$ before this really hits the fan. I also think they will spend this time trying to resolve pay off folks.
I wonder if she will recant if he offers to marry her?
Im sorry to both of them, her for enduring the abuse both physically and mentally and him for becoming an abuser.
If steroids or drugs are involved, it could have contributed greatly to the out come we now see.
Side note on broken ribs: friend fell of his bike and hurt his side, He walked around for a week and it never got better, He finally went to doctor to find that he had broken a rib. So yes it is possible to break a rib and not know right away.
Thanks for the update Ms. Koala.
Can’t you also break a rib performing the heimlich maneuver or cpr incorrectly? It doesn’t take much force does it?
And by no means am I taking his side or whatever. I’m not even his fan. Just thinking about the maybes.
When performing CPR, you’re exerting tremendous force. (And no, breaking a rib doesn’t mean you’re doing it ‘incorrectly’.)
It does take a lot of force to break a rib. Even me kicking you at normal fight speed might NOT break ur ribs…
what the hell does if he offers to marry her even mean? Some of you are so twisted. I really hope you or someone you love isn’t ever in the situation this poor woman was in.
So he did beat her, but he’s just saying he didn’t beat her as much as she claims. Wow. I never want to see him again and fans really have no reason to defend him.
That is what baffled me the most in all this regarding the explanation from Keyeast. She claimed that it’s more than one occasion but they claimed it’s once. But from reading the whole statement that part jumped out to me the most. As if they are saying, yeah he hit her once and it’s no biggie. Like, that one time means nothing.
I think them trying to spin this in a better light for KHJ, only confirmed the one thing everyone wants to know, did he physically abused her. And in so many words, they pretty much admitted to it.
And the thing that even confused me more is, how can he not think this through? He got so much to lose….a fortune to lose why did he not think about the consequence in all this?
Some of his diehard fans think she provoked him, it’s the money, the victim wanted to ruin his career. All this aside, he had hit her. That is the main core of the situation.
It amazes me they didn’t try to say she was hitting him and he defended himself but she got hurt in the process that would be the logical thing to say when trying to come up with an excuse. Also the horse playing thing could be believable if the agency said something like they were playing football or tackling each other and she fell on a lamp or something but all they said was messing around. What the heck pr people your statement is just horrible.
Wow, I’m still reeling over this horrible news. To me, he come across as someone who’s gentle and would treat his partner with the utmost respect. I’m going to wait for further details about this story.
On a side note, waiting a day for a rebuttal doesn’t mean anything in my opinion. I definitely think they needed some time to react to the situation. Doesn’t necessary scream guilty. But someone at Key East Entertainment who put out the statement regarding the situation should be fired. Seriously who the heck gets their ribs broken and not realize? Does that sound like a plausible explanation to anyone on planet earth? Does she have genetic disease, on pain meds that reduces her pain stimulus? After a day and they came up with that- wow there seems to be a lot brilliant thinkers over at Key East Entertainment. I going to be relying on them to get me out of hot water.
From my personal experience, things that escalate up to a broken rib type of injury takes a lot of time. It could be isolated incident but usually, this kind of escalation takes time, not 2 months. And if it was only 2 months, then I would be really scared cause that’s a lot of force. Domestic violence is just so ugly. I can’t stand for it – anyone who’s stronger to bully someone who is weaker. In my case, mine made me think that I deserved it and it was entirely my fault. Abusers have a way of doing that.
Where kjh falls on this spectrum, I don’t know. But I hope he gets just punishment. I am thinking that a monetary settlement of high amounts will take place. For her sake, it might be better than a media circus. Even so, I hope he gets punished. At least career wise. Is jail time even an option here? I don’t know Korea law. I am guessing if they settle and she drops the charges than jail time is off. And keyeast – really??? That is foul, the explanation.
What an arsehole! To think I found him so clueless and adorable in Barefoot Friends and WGM.
What a shame, I really did like him in BOF and WGM. He seemed to come across as a young man who has a rocking out of this world personality and someone who worked hard as well as being of sincere character. There is no excuse for what he did and I can no longer look at him the same.
What if they were really playing around. For example, role playing CPR and chest compression ( Playful Kiss ). If it is done incorrectly, that could cause bruised or fractured rib. People need to stop jumping into conclusion until we get all the facts. Lately, we have seen a lot of KHJ pictures in the airport with bruises on his arms and nail. I will wait for the official police report before concluding on who is at fault. I heard the girl is in debts and in need of a lot of money.
It’s funny how some fans are jumping through hoops to make it seem like he didn’t beat up his girlfriend when the evidence is already there. Even his management team admitted it.
The agency already confirmed that there was a “one-time” incident of physical violence, broken rib or otherwise. So his fans think that it’s her fault that he beats her up until she ends up in hospital? And that if she is in debt and needs money, he has the right to beat her up? Really unimaginable…
ugh @you using the name of a character who is a feminist icon to many young girls of this generation, to make these awful victim-blaming comment.
The fact that it took them that long to come up with a bad statement like this reeks cover-ups and excuses. I can’t believe how many fans are still defending him though, it’s ridiculous. I called out the bad statement on weibo, and his fans attacked me saying, “there were cases where people sneezed and broke a rib, go baidu it, blah blah blah.” They admitted to him physically hitting her and it doesn’t matter if he was the one who broke her rib,he still hit his girlfriend.
That is it for me. I can never watch or listen to him again and not feel utmost disgust and disappointment. First of all, Keyeast is playing us all for fools with their half-assed statement. Who the hell cares that they dated for 2 months instead of 2 years, fact is they are admitting he did date her AND he did beat her up once. I don’t care if it’s once or 10 times, domestic violence is simply domestic violence.
Second, a broken rib while horse playing?!?! AND she didn’t notice it til after the next day? What the hell!? Yeah, maybe we could have believed that horrible lie IF he hadn’t already sent her to the hospital once before, AND if she was made out of mother freakin jelly.
And to top it all off, the violent beast is continuing with his concerts overseas. Like him and his agency don’t give a fuck or don’t realize how serious this all is. How can he even sing and dance on stage like nothing is wrong?
But I think what makes me the most upset is the thought that:
1. The victim will be made the evil one by Keyeast and his delulu fans.
2. He will most likely come out unscathed and this will all be buried and forgotten after a fako apology, his military service and/or a self-inflicted “time of reflection”.
3. His delulu fans will stick by him, clamoring to whomever that “oppa is perfect and would never do such a thing”.
4. He had us all fooled by his public facade of a gentle, shy, charity minded idol.
You’ve screwed up big time, Kim Hyun Joong. I hope you get punished to the full extent of the law and then have the sense and grace to step down from the entertainment industry forever. Please don’t be anymore shameless than you have been up to now.
U nailed everything I wanted to say. I’m mad as hell that he’s definitely gonna get away with it in an out of court settlement. The whole point is that he beat her up real bad, who is a of a weaker sex. Who in the right mind can accept this? Even if anyone is in need of money, who would break a rib to fake the evidence? I’m disgusted that Keyeast even tried to cover up for him…, when in tablo’s case his agency just abandoned him when the anti cafe accused him of lying abt his academic results (it was a witch hunt n he lived in fear for 3 years with no jobs, no one played his songs, couldn’t go out in public, etc)
That is an awful, awful statement made by KeyEast. They had a whole day to spin it in KHJ’s favor and it totally backfires.
Thank goodness we have a lawyer blogger like you, Koala. Your articulate observations are much appreciated.
This is such sad news. What ever really happened there is woman hurt, and Kim Hyun Joong career is essentially over. I’m surprised the rest of his tour isn’t cancelled and KHJ back in Korea and preparing to enter Basic Training
Exactly! The tour must go on. We have to collect the monies.
I mean, [sarcasm on] he didn’t hit her thatmany times. She was only hospitalized once. Why should he feel ANY SHAME AT ALL? Seriously, he’ll be back soon enough to listen to the complaint. What is the dog gone rush, victim? [sarcasm off – disgust remains.]
Get your ass home, KHJ.
Some K-pop artists owe colossal debts and their entertainment company might not be strong enough to make it through a huge blow. I have no idea if KHJ is one of them. If his career is shot down for good and there’s no way for him to rebound afterwards with such scandal, he is left with less than nothing. If you add the cancellation of his Asian tour, refunding the venues and the fans, that’s quite a huge sum. Plus keeping him away for a while and prepping him to confront the media frenzy at the airport as well as afterwards is not that bad of a PR move, strictly speaking.
KHJ seems guilty at the moment. I like to see how the case will fan out.
I think there’s no use “arguing” with a guy after a girl finds out he’s cheating. You can’t argue love. He just doesn’t love you enough to be faithful. Just leave him. Men are stronger then women most of the time, so why waste energy/time & get hurt. Self defense on the other hand, you attack/defend with vital points attack so that you can get away, which works. But if you fight hit to hit, what are the odds we’ll win with our strength? Just leave & dump the jerk.
I was really hoping it wasn’t true. No one wants their first crush oppa to turn out to be such a person.
Nonetheless, I hope that Kim Hyun Joong will suffer the consequences of his actions and the woman will recover and live as happily as she can without interference from his crazy fans.
i had not been a fan of KHJ, just neutral to him.
now after this incident, that just tips the scale off
to not liking him.
Same here….he’s forever dead to me
Why is he continuing his concert tour? Can anyone really enjoy his performances in light of the news? I was never a big KHJ fan, even though I did like him Playful Kiss, any trace of my good opinion of him is gone now. Shame on him, and shame on his agency for trying to squeeze every last drop of money from his remaining fans before they turn their backs on him forever.
I don’t understand about that either. They should cancel his tour immediately. Whey didn’tthe police summon him already?
I heard rumors abt the alleged girlfriend, shes a well known actress. I dont want to believe it’s her.
Where did you hear it from? Any hints? I’ve had the impression that his girlfriend wasn’t from the industry so this came as a bit of a surprise.
No, supposedly she’s a student and he’s paying for her school..which is one of the reasons it was hard for her to get out of the relationship. I think her friends/family convinced her to press charges.
All these rumors don’t matter though. The only thing that did is what he did to her.
Basically, KHJ and his agency are in admission of assaulting Miss “A”. As far as the rib being broken they are painting it as if it happens while both of them are playing around. Oh my gosh! They are admitting that it happened but they are denying that it didn’t happen for two months? I hope not! Oh yeah, why did it took so long for him and his agency to answer the allegation? One more thing, he is being accuse of assaulting his girlfriend, wouldn’t it be a lot better if he faces them immediately? I guess his tour is far more important than dealing with this matter. hmmmm.
How can he enjoy performing on that stage. I can’t even imagine how fake it will be..
oh god 🙁 I really cant see him the same way again and I had given him the benefit of the doubt till now…i feel like this is even worse than the PSH scandal…at least there all the facts were very ambiguous and complicated….Is his career over? but it will be a while or forever before he can recover from this
I know as a lawyer you are very good at putting it all out there clearly for fans, BUT, I can’t just let you go and let everyone know that you can’t get a broken rib just by ‘fooling around’.
You can.
And yes, you can go on with life without knowing it until a little later. I work in the medical profession and have seen such happen a few times. A broken rib is not a rib snapped into two. To non medical people, a broken rib is probably that, the rib is broken into two or something awful has happened! But no, to the medical profession, there is a few types of ‘broken ribs’, there are fractures to the rib, non displaced, or displaced fracture with or without a flail piece, or a flail chest (worst kind ever). Which, in non medical terms, is like a hairline fracture, so the rib is still in one piece, but there is a small crack in it, like a glass with a crack, it is still together, but there is a small hairline crack. Another, is it is actually cracked and moving against each other, the latter is when it is pretty bad and it is like a piece of bone ‘floating’ around as one breathes and the last is when basically the chest is smashed in a few different places, many ribs involved and it is no good at all, but you probably will still survive as long as there is no other injuries involved.
How can one get broken ribs? The weirdest is probably going to be coughing, yes I have seen it because I sent them for the damn chest x-ray myself, and the worst is blunt trauma, something like steering wheel to the chest in a car accident.
So YES, it can happen with fooling around, my colleague was fooling around with friends, hit the rib against some table and voila, two days later was still experiencing some ‘bruised rib’, ended up with a displaced fracture of the rib because we were concerned and sent her down the corridor to the x-ray department.
So yes, they could have also been having some very ‘good times’, and banged it against something, or they could have actually been fighting. People do come in with fractured spine after some intense love making… I am never surprised if they do tell me that story anymore after working in the A+E of a hospital.
I DO hope that police and everyone will do their job and see punishment given. I adore KHJ, he is hilarious, but, I do not accept violence against women or men (yes they can be victims as well of DV). I hope that he will learn his lesson with the law standing by the victims side. He may be famous and everything, but he needs to be taught that just because he is an idol, loved by many, he can’t get away from charges of assault.
I only hoped she came forward earlier, but kudos to her bravery for stepping out and doing this. It is never easy as victims of DV are often isolated. But I hope she will be the reason why other women will find the strength to step out and say no to abuse. NO one deserves to be abused/assaulted. I myself have had close friends who have been victims, these ladies are the strongest I know to stand up for themselves and do the right thing and report them.
To KHJ, you have disappointed me big time. I do want to know what the final results of these will say.
To his ex girlfriend, his fans won’t like you, but you are one hell of a brave girl! I also want to know what come out of this, and I hope there is no false allegations or anything. Because if he did abuse you, I wish to see him get what he deserves.
Thank you for your post.
Well said!
From your point of view, which type of broken rib requires a 6-week hospital stay? I understand the difficulty of my question, because medical practice varies according to the country, hospital policy, patient’s overall health.
I read from another source she was told it will take 6 weeks to heal, not a 6 week hospital admission.
Usually, all fractures (broken bones) take around 6 weeks to heal. It does depends where it is, but generally, our advice to patients is that the bone will take around 6 weeks to heal. Ribs especially will heal on its own, there is not much surgical intervention for simple hairline fractures.
6 week admission, for a broken rib, is probably not just a broken rib. That is generally going to be your flail chest, which probably means you have other injuries as well. Those are caused by high speed car accidents, so there could be other injuries requiring ICU admission (think intubated, life support, breathing tube down the throat type). More complicated than just a fractured rib.
Thank you for your answer. The 6-week duration mentioned was not clear to me, actually, whether it referred to the time required for healing or admission. Must have been a lost-in-translation thing.
off topic, koala i saw your heading is that LEE JONG SUK and Lee Bo Young in there? did you finish watching. IHYV.
maybe his father is also an abuser some study said that it rans in the family 🙁
One of my college friend idolize him too much, and my friend see him as an ideal guy, now my kindest friend is so shuttered by the statement of keyeast its more than admitting he is guilty. Its like saying put me in prison dammit.
Wow! KHJ will be swarmed by reporters when he returns to South Korea. His career and CFs will be gone. His life will be a mess. He can enlist in the army but will be hard to recover back. What a drama!
If convicted, he may be in jail first before Army.
If he settle out of court, he doesn’t need to be jailed right?
Didn’t know he had a girlfriend. BTW… He is sooooo weird looking now, now that he had done some face surgery(nose??).
Pity the girl, being abused by someone she admired as a fan and love as a girlfriend, she must be very very sad now.
This statement is a joke, I couldn´t believe what I was reading! So their main argument is: “But he only hurt her that one time!!”?!
Utterly unbelievable.
Ya. It is the joke of the year. They are making a fool of themselves bcos it is equal to admitting guilty. Haha.
This is pretty shoking. Forget about some irrelevant dating scandals. I actually really liked him. What he did is seriously really bad, however, it´s true you can break your rib while playing around. You can even break your rib while coughing. My dad broke his rib when he was decorating christmas tree :-))
I checked out a fan site of KHJ on Facebook, there’s no condemning comments there whatsoever. Just a few “likes”, & a few encouraging words too. I guess people are hesitate to say mean things on that site.
The whole story looks a bit weird to me cuz there’s no explanation about why do they fight. Also, they are just in a BF and GF relationship, not in a marriage or “living together”, how come the woman can stand the violence for more than one time without leaving him? Shouldn’t it be more natural that in such situation couples break up rather than bringing it to the police?
I just don’t get it.
Since you just “don’t get it”, let me try and shed some light for you regarding the mysteries of life you mentioned in your comment.
1. There is an explanation for the fights. Dispatch reported about his “women problems”, aka he was cheating on his gf. Furthermore, there’s no need to know the reasons for their fights. Couples argue and fight all the time. That’s normal. What’s NOT normal is when the physically stronger one beats up the weaker one during the fights, to the point of needing medical attention.
2. One does not need to be bound by the institution of marriage to feel trapped in a relationship. You clearly have no clue about love, passion and the power of the abuser in an abusive relationship.
3. Lastly your last sentence is the one that kills me the most. You clearly understand that there was violence in their relationship, but you think that just because she wasn’t married to him she should just break up and not get the police involved? WTF?! If someone gets the shit beaten out of them, they should go to the police ASAP. Doesn’t matter who did it – your dad, your brother, your lover, your teacher, a stranger on the street. Report that motherfucker. The end.
Seriously it doesn’t matter if it’s a hairline fracture or a rib broken into two. If they were horsing around, playing sports, having a tug a war whatever and she fell on something, anything as long as it wasn’t by his hand, I’m sure key east will mention on their statement. But no, the statement smells “guilty and we are just trying to take a spin on this and see if we can salvage any delusional fans” he doesn’t need to break a rib to be an abuser, neither does he he need to date her longer to be an abuser, the moment u lay hands on a woman, you are an abuser. There is no freaking excuse. Even if she was trying to kick ur ass off, a decent man would have walked away. I’m
Sorry, I liked him a lot in playful kiss but this is serious horrible stuff for a guy to do. No matter the reasons or explanation. So what that she needs money or whatever. It’s horrid to flame the victim. And yes some people do carry on abusive relationships for years and can’t leave the person. So her coming out on this late is no reason to not believe her side of the tale. It’s characteristic in abusive relationships the cycle for violence, forgiveness, hope and then violence then finally the hell I’m leaving u and I will report you. Some people take years literally to get out of it.
Thank you for sharing this Koala and I agree with you on all things except that I never liked this guy.
I can guess why she had not repoted him the first time. He probably cried, said he is sorry, told her that it will never happen again and as with most of the abused she thought maybe she is also a bit guily about what happened (this of course most probably enhanced by him). She probably loved him and wanted to give him a chance. Only remembering the happy moments on the verge of a break up.
Kudos to her coming to her senses and doing the right thing this time. And good luck to her in the future, I hope she’ll find happiness.
As for him, he should be put behing the bars but at least now every woman knows what he is like.
I am not a supporter of women abusers or KHJ’s fan but I would like to say that most of the comments are one sided against him. I will share an example of another abuse case: A woman who had been cheated on felt very much rejected and furious. She did not leave him and stayed but she was always suspicious/questioned and nagged each time like a detective whenever her man came home. He was already bored and wanted out but she was clinging on and did not want to let go. So he put up with her but the constant suspicion, nagging or tantrums with pots and pans thrown at him if he did not answer her questions put such a strain on his patience and he lost it. That’s when he retaliated. She became an ‘monster’. She told herself “I will destroy him and let’s see if the other woman will have him when he is a failure!” She was all out to get him. One day she purposely provoked him to beat her and then she made a report. Some of the bruises on her were self inflicted. In the report, her situation was greatly exaggerated.
Do be careful with your comments even though there may be a number points that are in KJH’s favor because you were not actually there when it all happened. Truths can be twisted sometimes and who knows why Keyeast is not managing the situation well?
typo error: Do be careful even though there may be a number of points that are not in KHJ’s favor because you were not actually there when it all happened.
Just saw the pictures that were released of her body…jeez she looks pretty bad…the bruises and finger marks on her are no joke.
I believe he did it, I don’t think we will see him again in the future when this is all said and done. (trying to figure out how he has ever been thought of as a “best actor”, cute actor yeah, best actor no way).
BUT…just wanted to correct you on one thing, in 2002 a friend and I were horsing around at a family picnic trying to trip each other and I did end up breaking a rib, so yeah you can break or injury your ribs by horsing around.
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I used to be his fan but it was truly disappointed after knowing about this incident. I think fame got into his head and he felt powerful or invincible or something. Even if the accuser exaggerated, I’d still say he’s an abuser as there won’t be smoke without a fire. He has his own YouTube channel, and when I commented about his abuse, his fans were completely against me and threatening to sue me. People are delusional. How will they know what happened behind closed doors? After reading messages and all, KHJ could have behave a lot better. I am not his fan anymore. But I wish him all the luck though.