Lee yeon hee scandal

It seems there is finally some resolution to the Lee Byung-hun scandal that erupted in August of On Thursday January 15, a Seoul court sentenced Kim Da-hee and Lee Ji-yeon to one year, and one year two months of jail time, respectively, for their participation in the blackmailing of actor Lee Byung-hun. Since those initial reports, the scandal continued to take many interesting twists and turns.

Armed with the explicit video, Da-hee and Lee Ji-yeon demanded 5 billion KRW (often reported as 50억 원) from Lee Byung-hun, threatening to release the footage online if he .

While both women admitted to participating in the blackmailing, they each had justification for their actions: Lee Ji-yeon claimed she was having an affair with Lee Byun-hun and had recently been jilted, while Da-hee claims to only have been involved because she was in major debt with her agency, Big Hit Entertainment. There were also almost K-drama-esque accusations of escape plans to Europe that lead to the eventual arrest and charges brought against both women.

As more details came forward from the three entertainers involved, it appeared that Lee Byung-hun and Lee Ji-yeon may have engaged in an affair that ended suddenly. More unfortunate was the effect her mistakes would later have on the group, as it was announced on January 15th that GLAM, with its remaining three members, has disbanded due to contract termination.

However, partial clips of the suspected blackmail footage were leaked in September, revealing Lee Byung-hun asking two women very provocative and questions — definitely not the kind of questions you would ask mere acquaintances. He was also replaced in other CFs by more favorable Korean actors. The waters were only muddied further when on January 5th, Dispatch revealed previously unreleased alleged text message conversations between Lee Byung-hun and Lee Ji-yeon.

The text messages showed the married Lee Byung-hun planning a rendezvous with the young model and later suggesting they end their relationship. However, when similar evidence was presented in the courtroom, Lee Byung-hee regarded it merely as joking conversation. At this point — given his history of scandals and the Dispatch evidence — there was and still is little public doubt that Lee Byung-hun had cheated, so why he continued to deny the accusations so ardently remains a mystery.

Interestingly enough, most of the mud-slinging towards Lee Ji-yeon did not come from Lee Byun-hun himself, but rather from authorities and investigators in the case.

Model Lee Ji Yeon and girl group GLAM’s member Kim Dahee have received their sentences for blackmailing actor Lee Byung Hun. On January 15, the sentence was decided .

In the end, two young women are being sent to jail and Lee Byung-hun will continue advancing his Hollywood career with Terminator 5. With CFs being pulled left and right, Lee is fortunate to have a semi-established Hollywood career in the wake of this scandal. Although the scandal has come to a legal close, the whole affair itself leaves a bitter taste in many mouths.