Actor Hwang Jung-min [Sam Company]
Actor Hwang Jung-min [Sam Company]

A woman who claimed to have had an affair with actor Hwang Jung-min has issued a detailed statement pushing back after Hwang's side labeled her a stalker.

The woman, identified only as A, said in a statement released Thursday that "private contact began in August 2023 when Hwang Jung-min reached out first," adding that the two "maintained an intimate relationship for several months, exchanging calls and messages multiple times a day."

A said Hwang proposed a soju brand project using his name and signature works, and that she carried out market research, concept planning and trademark searches as the design practitioner on the project. She also said Hwang encouraged her to write fiction, resulting in about 30 pieces, some of which contained sexual content written at his request.

A filed a 200 million won ($138,000) damages lawsuit against Hwang in February over the matter.

A said Hwang "unilaterally cut off all business discussions and contact at some point," and that she had called for an explanation about whether the project would continue, what would become of the work she had already put in, and how their relationship would be resolved. She said she had proposed on multiple occasions that the matter be settled quietly and without public disclosure, given Hwang's public profile, but that he did not respond and instead filed a criminal stalking complaint against her.

A received a summary order earlier this year imposing a 3 million won fine on stalking charges and has since filed for a formal trial to contest it. A summary order is issued by a court based solely on a review of documents at a prosecutor's request and does not constitute a formal finding of guilt.

"I believe this case constitutes emotional and sexual exploitation, as well as labor exploitation, occurring amid a stark power imbalance," A said. "I had to continuously endure emotional deprivation, sexual humiliation and exhaustion from uncompensated labor."

A said Hwang held a position of power over her, deciding when and how to make contact and determining what they would do together and what she would write.

A said the creative work she produced at his request "was consumed for his satisfaction, only to later be presented in his stalking complaint as evidence of my obsession or delusion," adding: "The person who asked for an explanation becomes the perpetrator, while the person who gave none is apparently owed no explanation at all."

Affair or stalker? The dispute over Hwang Jung-min

The controversy began when A posted on Instagram claiming she had been in an extramarital relationship with Hwang.

A shared what she said were messenger chat screenshots, call logs and audio files as evidence of an ongoing private relationship with Hwang.

Among the material A released were messages in which a man presumed to be Hwang said things such as "I want to hold you" and "Your messenger profile photo is so cute."

A claims the relationship lasted from August 2023 to late 2024. She says the two first met at a preview screening of the film "Smugglers" in July 2023 and exchanged contact information, then had their first drinks together at a bar in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, in August of that year. She also says they met at Incheon Airport in September 2023 before Hwang departed for Romania, where they drank together. A says she met Hwang two more times after that, and it is understood the relationship did not involve sexual intercourse.

Hwang's side maintains that A is a stalker. Courts issued three separate emergency restraining orders against A, and she received a summary order earlier this year imposing a 3 million won fine on stalking charges. A denies the stalking allegations and filed for a formal trial in February.

Hwang's agency, Sam Company, described the recorded phone calls A released as "maliciously edited posts" and said it plans to take further legal action.


paq@heraldcorp.com