Actor Kim Seon-ho apologizes for pressuring ex to have abortion

Actor Kim Seon-ho [SALT ENTERTAINMENT]

Actor Kim Seon-ho admitted his “wrongful action" of persuading his ex-girlfriend to get an abortion on Wednesday and released a formal statement of apology through his agency, Salt Entertainment.

“I had dated her [ex-girlfriend] not with light feelings. But due to my lack of consideration, I’ve hurt her feelings,” Kim wrote. “I hope to see her in person to sincerely apologize but I think I should wait for the right time. In the meantime, I hope to send my sincere apology through this letter.”

The apology comes three days after an anonymous person posted online claiming to be the ex-girlfriend of “actor K” insisted that the rising star allegedly gave her 2 million won ($1,700) for an abortion after she became pregnant with his child in July 2020. The post also claimed that the actor told her that he would lose advertising deals if his public image took a hit due to premarital parenthood, which is often frowned upon in Korea.

“I would also like to apologize to all those who have shown me love and support for disappointing them,” Kim continued. “I also want to apologize to the many people who worked with me on various productions for the harm which I have caused due to my mistakes.”

Kim, who has been more active as a theater actor, has been gaining recognition after taking a lead role in the hit television drama series “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha,” which recently came to an end on Sunday, the same day when Kim’s alleged ex-girlfriend posted online.

Due to the drama’s popularity and growing interest in Kim, many advertisers have already signed deals with Kim. But as soon as the allegations broke on Sunday, some advertisers immediately dropped Kim from their advertisements.

KBS2 has also released an official statement Wednesday, saying that Kim will be leaving the cast of its popular reality show “1 Night, 2 Days.”

“The production team has officially decided that actor Kim Seon-ho will be leaving the program after his recent controversy,” the statement said. “He will also be edited out, as much as possible, in the upcoming episodes which were already filmed prior to the controversy.”

The cast of two upcoming films "Date at 2 O'Clock" and "Dog Days" will also be changed as Kim was previously named as one of the leading roles.

The production team of "Date at 2 O'Clock" told Ilgan Sports, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, on Wednesday, that Kim is no longer suitable for the role.

Interviews of “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” costars Shin Min-a and Lee Sang-yi, each scheduled to take place this week were also canceled.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]