Director Hong Sang Soo’s Wife Refuses Third Divorce Petition and Still Wants Husband Back from Kim Min Hee
This is a sad situation all around, whether one roots for the left behind wife or the couple in love, someone’s getting hurt and likely all three. That’s why love triangles are only good for generation tension in dramas, in real life it feels like everyone loses. Still married director Hong Sang Soo has openly declared his love for actress Kim Min Hee during their promotional tour for new movie On the Beach at Night Alone, an unusual move in Korea where adultery was criminalized until recently and where social norms remain quite traditional and conservative.
It remains to be seen if either or both will suffer any ramifications in their professional career, but on the personal front their romance remains mired in controversy due to Hong Sang Soo’s wife refusing to divorce him. He filed for divorce last year and she’s refused service of process twice under the auspices of not being home to accept it. This week the court tried for the third time to deliver the petition to her and she once again did not accept, declaring that she has nothing to say other than believing her husband will one day return to her.
As a matter of law the court can hear the divorce petition in absentia if the respondent continues to refuse service of process but it’s just so sad to hear a wife holding on so tightly to a marriage where the husband has made it publicly known that he wants to divorce her and is in love with another woman. Marriage is an institution and contract between two people but in this case no one can force another to stay in a marriage if he wants out other than as a pure legality so I hope these three can reach a resolution soon and everyone can move on.
I know that if I was the wife I will give him a divorce but will probably will take all I can in terms of assets as law permits and start a new life with ny head held high. I would not want him back at any cost. But that is just me and I cant judge wife for wanting her husband back, hope that at the end all party involved in this drama can find some resolution.
Yes.. I totally agree!!
I think she’s just making things difficult for the two. She got nothing to lose. He denied his only daughter support, he declared publicly his adulterers n love. If im the wife i’ll do the same .. make him suffer for not being responsible to his daughter n for not respecting marriege and the wife n daughter. He can just hide his relationship until their divorce is final but no he chose to insult his family. Serves him right.
He didn’t deny his daughter support…that was a fabricated rumor…he also discussed divorce before all this scandal blown away…and the wife is the one who blow it by sharing yext messages between her and Min Hee’s mother as ptoof.
I don’t support adultery but I know that you can’t keep another person with force…once his heart has gone…its the end…not to mention they have a daughter in collage now…continuing this mess is only hurting her…
I find the wife is just as selfish as him.
sorry for writing mistakes…my phone is wierd ^^
I don’t think the wife is as selfish as him. He is the one who wants a divorce, why would she grant it if she does not want one? He has a problem, not her… Yes, you cannot keep a person with force, he has already left. But to ask her to sign a paper that she does not want, this is too much to ask of her. They agreed to get married, and when he wants out, why does she have to comply?? does that mean she is selfish? She is not the one who ask for it in the first place! Didn’t he say his Oath at the wedding? I believe a woman should stick to her belief and desire, and not to give in if she disagrees.
Maybe he has no real assets to give up, other than his reputation. So by publically shaming him and his mistress, she gets what she wants which is to ruin their careers…if you break rice bowl or in western terms empty the wallet, eventually even the most passionate relationship will fizzle out.
i like your rice bowl analogy, ha.
I was starting to think the wife had no self-respect, but after this latest snub, I’m kinda rooting for her.
Director Hong Sang Soo will pay the highest price – he will loose everything. He’s foolishly living a life of a drama…hope this is worth it for him.
The wife has already lost the heart of her husband, why let him have everything when she claims she is suffering? HSS is a very selfish bastard, cut out support for his daughter’s education, and publically exposing his shameless desire to be with a younger woman. He’d better stop showing off and give the wife some respect, the more he pushes, the more she will resist!
i cry for his wife and i understand her feelings but if a man doesnt want you and you force him to come back to you,you will never be happy and everything you do will not satisfy him, there will be constant fights and there will be no peace in the household.
love dies and marrying someone doesnt mean you can force to be with you each other forever esp. when you marry a man with no conscience like hong sang soo.except the case when the couple is very religious and they decide to comply with their belief for example roman catholic which forbid divorce.
what the wife should do is collect a fat alimony and leave everything to God esp.since her daughter is an adult.love can strike twice for her too.
to kim min hee, i will say i am dissapointed in her and she should not blame anyone for its repercussions now and later.this is the reason why actresses should never admit dating in public in korea.the men esp.the actors simply dont marry actresses with past dating scandals ,you can check the married actors and verify.also actresses need to swallow their pride and
reduce their high standard in men to be able to get married since most of them are rich anyway.
with regard to hong sang soo, he is in cloud nine and living the dream of most men but beware kmh can also ditch you when you are very old and vulnerable.he will still have his career since korea is bias towards men.you hurt and humilaite your daughter and wife of many years and for what?he should never regret in future.
I have nothing to comment since this is a very complicated affairs. All 3 of them have their own fair share to blame and reason for whatever they are doing.
But what really intrigued my curiosity is the extend that Kim Min Hee is willing to go and jeopardize her career and reputation for this man. She came a long way to establish herself as one of the most talented actresses in Korea and with this scandal and at the rate that she is going, she does not seem to mind to lose everything just to be with him. I really wonder why?
Seriously the Wife has nothing to lose and while he everything. She probably didn’t want to let him off so easily and so is making things difficult for him. The point is not to want him back but to creatr obstacles in their way. Perhaps she also hopes that KMH will leave him so in the end he gets nothing. I can understand her objective. Regardless if he stays with his Wife or not, the responsibilities of a Father never ends. To know he is stopping sponsoring his daughter’s education is unacceptable. We are parents for life, not when it fits them.
We’re the outsider so we dont know the whole story. Publicly flaunting your love for each other for all to see photo n document is not the way to get your wife to sign the divorce papers for sure. Hope this saga gets to be resolved more amicably.. if that’s even possible for them
I actually think it is because of the other failed attempts to proceed with the divorce that they openly started being together as a couple. It actually sounds like he tried to quietly divorce and it was a no go so they tried this route…isn’t working either but sounds like the courts will allow him to proceed. It’s a mess and I sympathize, but I don’t believe in trapping people in a marriage they no longer want. It’s not healthy for anyone.
I think you can never know what happens between couples. How did they choose to show their love to each other over years? I was married for ten years before my wife left me. Neither of us showed love at the end, but we put a great front for others. Everyone was shocked at divorce. We have no idea what they are going through. I feel huge sadness for all of them.
well she old so if i were her i would not want him to get a young wife too. she waste her young life with this sob. she need to sue him for adultery so he lost his money
The had thirty years together. They have been together since their twenties. It sucks that it will not take them to their graves but life is tough and unfair. Lots of women get betrayed and lots of men get betrayed. What makes this wife so special that it can’t happen to her? If he is gonna come back to her what is the difference between holding on or divorcing him?
Honesty the way the wife is acting makes me see why the marriage was over for him. She has to move on and find her own life. Another person can’t be yours. You have to accept it and move on. Even if he has cheated and comeback before even if he has been her best friend, what matters is that he wants out now. This is not about KMH. This is a fight between two people and one is holding on too long.
This is about KMH also, she is having an affair with the married man and showing off about it.
The wife and the kids are the victims, the director and the actress are the adulterer and flaunting it. I guess KMH is fine with wearing the “Scarlett Letter” A proudly. Either way, what KMH and the Director did was wrong and wrong. What the wife is doing now is understandable. The guy probably never gave an outright answer to the wife. The wife shouldn’t just give the guy what ever he wants because of a new starlett…however, Karma has a way of coming back and biting hard…KMH and the Director will get their just desserts, no affairs ever ended well. Once the Director is done playing with KMH, he will also betray her just as he did with his wife of 30 years. If a man can turn his back on the wife and daughter, he is selfish and only cares for himself.
“no affairs ever ended well”….I would like to think that is true, but I’ve known several couples who are in happy marriages that started with one or both parties cheating on their spouse(s). However, I know of a lot more of these situations where the cheating relationship floundered and didn’t go anywhere post divorce so it is a roll of the dice and just causes so much pain.
Nope. Hold on to him. Even if the love is no longer there. For korea,and being in her 50s. No chance she will find someone else. At least holding out KMH will never be able to assume the official MRS title. She will be an adulterers and mistress all the days she stays in the relationship. This is the best way to punish her. She will never be able to hold her head high in public. You can take the man and his heart all you want but you can never but back integrity. Good decision on the wife’s part. Till the day she dies she remains Mrs Hong.
I’m with you on this. Of course this woman needs a fair compensation since she has dedicated her life to the family and now she could be left with nothing. He also needs to take responsibility regarding his daughter.
But the marriage? You cannot force a person to live with you and to love you, and the more you try to force them the more they will hate you. Nowadays people live much longer life than just decades ago, marriage for life will become a not so common arrangement and it’s ok since people should be free. Of course they need to pay for economical responsibilities, but for cheating…it is difficult to define the limits. Anyway, why would you want to share your life with someone that wants to be as far from you as possible?
This guy is asking for the divorce and she is saying no, which means that for her is not about to negotiate better terms for her and the daughter, but to make him suffer. This will not help anyone. She is going to waste her time and damage her health because she wants vengeance. The guy might be a jerk, but I wonder what could have happened if he asked for divorce before starting any affair, my bet is that she wouldn’t have agreed either…
Don’t misunderstand me, I know the wife is the first victim. But she should fight for the money and let the old jerk go..so KMH can put up with him and she can find a better partner.
The longer the wife holds on the longer it will take for her to move on
may be the story like this…
he married his wife after she was pregnant with their child but then after few year of marriage, he found out the child was not his.
He met this young woman who similarly was heartbroken ( for some other reason- probably got dumped by jo insung lmao), they became friend then fell in love with each other….and then the epi drama continue with next episode of bla bla…his wife refused to give divorce with fear she might loose a fortune bla bla…his husband cut off support
yeah! I have been watching too many korean dramas??
Yep, this could definitely be a drama.
Sadly this is not drama. Don’t assume anything, because what you have said about their child was not his is so cruel. Just put your feet in the wife’s or child’s shoes. I know you were joking, but your comment is inappropriate.
+1 Heartless and cruel to be honest!
Still don’t get it!! A married man?? On top of that, an ugly and old dude? Raise your standard, girl!
Best comment of the section ?
The actress sucks bigtime, no shame and proud. Want to uproot her hair so shameless. Want her out of korean showbiz industry.
the saddest part in this is their child/children. What would she/he/they get from this situation? Not only they get shame for their father’s adultery, they were also taught by their mother that a woman has no self-respect that she refused to divorced a shitty of a man. For what ever reason the wife refused to divorce (financial/vengeance/love), i think she should start thinking for the child/children and move on when she is clearly not wanted in the triangle relationship.
Whoa, genuinely surprised by the vehemence in the comments.
Let’s not judge given that we only know what was reported in the news or tabloids. For all we know, they may have their own difficulties too!
it’s a sad situation for all parties involved and I think people wouldn’t choose to take the tougher road in life if they could choose an easier path.
First really kind thing, thank you Cat, I completely agree
I wonder what the wife does. She seem like a stay-home wife. It must have been life shattering for her to experience such drama at such age.
I know what they are doing is wrong but IMO one partner shouldn’t be allowed to hold another a legal hostage.
heard the wife and husband were separated for 10 years already, if this is true then to me this mean they were not married anymore. Just had the legal term of marriage.
So this could explain why KMH got into this mess. She thought it just needed the final ”divorce” word from the court, but instead his wife made a scandal and refused to divorce.
This reminds me those kdramas, were the ”couple” live apart, one in korea, other in america, and the wife refuses to divorce even if they arent together anymore for years and both have their own affair….
I read the same thing though it just said “years” so I didn’t know how many they’d lived apart.
Good for her!
I get the feeling that the wife was hoping the society would shame him to remain in the marriage (I’m not sure why she would want that to be in marriage at all though). And at this point, she is out for revenge. I don’t genuinely think she wants him back, her initial plan backfired and now their ‘public’ declaration just pushed her further. I hope she can find her own closure and peace whichever way it might be because I have no sympathy for the other two.
Also, I’m really baffled by KMH… it’s such a bad press to be the third party in a relationship, especially the women who get dragged through the mud. How is she so…brazen about it? Directors are more behind the scenes but she needs the public image for her career.
Anyone has answer how divorce works in SK? Does the wife get half of his assets like in California for example.
she might as wll do porn no man will want her after this affair. only old man will even look at her now. she a hoe for trying to steal other husband. he a man hoe for cheating on his wife.
This post is very offensive to me. It takes two people to have an affair. And why would she need a man to look at her- only old men would look at her, what kind of a comment is this? Who cares? And isn’t her lover an old man? Do the opinions of men should matter this much?
The only thing I agree is that it is not cool to have an affair if either party is married. Yes the heart wants what it wants but it would have been better if they waited until he is divorced.
Either the wife has mental problems or she is an extremely damaged woman to put her daughter through this. Having her parents divorce probably is a very tough experience but this must have been worse for the daughter.
Doesn’t matter, what out there think or say, the wife accomplished her goal, make their life miserable as hers, and I am pretty sure the children are supporting the mother. What does she have to loose? She already dragging them in the muddy, as they did to her. She is playing shame with shame, lets see who will loose more. 100% supporting the wife regardless. It was many years supporting the husband, for him to be a well known and successful Director, it is because he had a great person behind him, that must be the wife, that perhaps focus on support and help him develop his career. Now, he is up there and the wife is no longer serving his purpose, she needs to move to the side and allow him to enjoy peaceful .,Hell no. Now, she has another mission, take back what she help build, no mercy.
Her previous boyfriends were huge stars and gorgeous – Lee Jung Jae and Jo In Sung. She’s one of Korea’s top actresses. She would have no problem attracting very eligible men. Why pick someone so much older and married? She obviously must be very deeply in love and not thinking straight. I feel sorry for all 3 of them.
[…]My Lover broke up with me 2 months ago but he finally came back to me with the help of dr.mac k201@gmail c om………………..