[YouTube channel 'Mipji Anheun Gwanjong Eonni']
[YouTube channel 'Mipji Anheun Gwanjong Eonni']

Actor Kim Ga-yeon has spoken candidly about her family's wealth, widely reported to run into the tens of billions of won, and revealed that her mother's striking looks once sparked rumors she was a mistress — something that made Kim dread her mother visiting school.

A video titled "The ageless 55-year-old Kim Ga-yeon! First reveal of how she won over Im Yo-hwan, 8 years her junior (assets: 60 billion won)" was posted Thursday on the YouTube channel Mipji Anheun Gwanjong Eonni.

In the video, Kim was asked about rumors that her father was worth 30 billion won. "That was true — about 60 billion won," she said, drawing surprise from those present.

She added that her father ran a business that had done very well, and that she had overheard accounting staff talking about the figures during a visit to his office. "It was the company's assets, not my father's personal wealth," she said.

Kim also spoke about her mother, saying she was the type to be heavily involved in school affairs. "I really disliked that. She used to serve as the parents' association president and would come to school to check on things, and I hated it when she showed up," she said.

She explained that her mother was so attractive that classmates would ask if she was Kim's older sister. "At one point there were even rumors that my mother was a mistress, and hearing things like that was so unpleasant that I just didn't want her coming to school," Kim said.

Also that day, host Lee Ji-hye asked Im Yo-hwan whether he had any hesitation before the marriage. "She had been married before and already had a child, and then you suddenly hear she's from a prominent Gwangju family with 60 billion won — did that sway you at all?" Lee asked.

Im said he had not known when they first met and only found out through people around him. "I thought, 'Oh, really?'" he said.

He added that at the time he was in a period of self-confidence and the money was not particularly important to him. "But there was certainly no reason to be put off by it," he said.

The episode also touched on Im's current life as a professional poker player competing in major tournaments around the world, including in Las Vegas.

After rumors circulated about large prize pools, Lee asked whether it was true that entry fees were steep and prize money could reach 3 billion won ($2.15 million) or even 20 billion won.

Im confirmed that top prizes could reach those figures but noted that entry fees varied widely. "So the prize money is not pure profit — there are entry fees I've paid along the way," he said.

Meanwhile, Kim married professional gamer Im Yo-hwan in 2011. He is eight years her junior. The couple have two daughters.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com