Actor Hwang Jung-min. [Herald Muse]
Actor Hwang Jung-min. [Herald Muse]

A woman identified only as A, who faces stalking charges filed by actor Hwang Jung-min, has rebuffed his side's claim that there was "no physical contact" between them, saying contact did occur at their first meeting. She also addressed the controversy over photos of a dead cat she sent him, saying her intent was not to cause fear or disgust but to respond to an insult he had directed at her.

A posted twice on her personal channel on Thursday, pushing back against media reports about the case.

On the claim that there had been "absolutely no physical contact," she said, "If one-sided groping counts as physical contact, then it happened at the airport," and added that "physical contact continued throughout the market alley on the way to get a taxi after leaving the bar at our first meeting."

She also addressed the controversy over the cat photos. Early last year, A sent Hwang photos described as "my cat's final moments," including an image of her pet and another showing a tissue stained with blood.

She said the photos showed her cat — a companion of 16 years — just before and after it was euthanized, and that Hwang had already known of the cat's existence. She said she had told him during a phone call that the cat was in critical condition, but that he responded with the insult "Just slather it with doenjang" — a dismissive and derogatory remark.

"Sending the cat photos was simply a response to that remark — there was absolutely no intent to cause fear or disgust," she said.

She went on to say, "It was a belated response to the other party's insult, not a preemptive attack or anything of that nature," and rebuffed the complaint, saying, "The criminal complaint cut out this sequence of events and stripped away the context to reconstruct it as 'creating fear.'"

The message she sent along with the photos read: "Even though it was barely conscious, it held my hand. This is my cat's final moment. I had to euthanize an animal like this after you said what you said." She added: "Even after it died, so much blood kept coming from its nose that I wiped it all through the early morning hours before the funeral."

Hwang filed a complaint against A in August last year under the Stalking Punishment Act and submitted the photos as evidence. In the complaint, he alleged that A had sent photos of what appeared to be an animal carcass "with the intent to cause fear and disgust."

A was indicted on charges including violation of the Stalking Punishment Act and received a summary order in February imposing a fine of 3 million won ($2,080). However, she has filed for a formal trial, contesting the ruling.

Hwang's side maintains that A is a stalker, while A contends that the two had an inappropriate relationship, meeting four times between August 2023 and late 2024.

After losing contact with Hwang in May last year, A sent emails to overseas production companies detailing her alleged relationship with him, which led Hwang to file the stalking complaint against her.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com