Considered one of South Korea's main actors has apologized after it was revealed that he fathered a toddler with a girl he isn’t married to, sparking nationwide scrutiny in a rustic the place births out of wedlock are nonetheless thought-about taboo.
Jung Woo-sung, a star in South Korea's aggressive movie trade since his debut within the 1990s, made headlines this week after his company confirmed that the 51-year-old actor is the organic father of the mannequin's son. Moon Ga-bi, born in March.
Days earlier, Moon, 35, revealed that she had lately turn out to be a mom, with out revealing the id of the kid's father. A neighborhood information report claimed that the mannequin had wished to marry Jung to “present her son with a household,” however the actor refused.
Though Jung promised to “fulfill his duties” as a father, his silence about his plans to marry Moon sparked intense backlash, with many calling him “irresponsible,” in a society the place deep-seated stigmas persist in opposition to single moms and their youngsters.
“I’m so sorry to all those that have proven me love and believed in me for the fear and disappointment I’ve triggered,” Jung mentioned Friday evening whereas taking the stage as host of the Blue Dragon Movie Awards.
“I’ll settle for and endure all criticism. As a father, I’ll fulfill my duties to my son to the tip.”
Jung has lengthy cultivated a scandal-free picture and served as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. refugee company for practically a decade till July.
This week critics have in contrast the child's state of affairs to that of refugees, highlighting the stigma confronted by youngsters of single moms.
“He has talked quite a bit about (welcoming) refugees, and but he has turned his personal son right into a refugee,” mentioned one commentator on a information web site.
A lawmaker from the opposition Democratic Occasion expressed help for the acceptance of various household constructions in South Korean society.
“The truth is that everybody is exclusive,” mentioned lawmaker Lee So-young, who added that her dad and mom divorced when she was younger.
“A society that respects these variations would certainly be a greater society, wouldn't it?”
Solely four.7 % of South Korean infants final 12 months have been born out of wedlock, one of many lowest amongst 38 developed international locations, the place the common is round 40 %.
South Korea has been scuffling with the world's lowest delivery charges and plummeting marriage charges.
Specialists say a contributing issue might be the nation's slender authorized definition of what a household entails.
They level out that court docket approvals for the adoption of a kid by an single individual are extraordinarily uncommon, that sperm donation is successfully prohibited for single girls, and that same-sex marriages usually are not legally acknowledged.