Director Hong Sang Soo has filed for divorce from his wife amid reports that he is having an affair with actress Kim Min Hee, who is 22 years younger than him. Hong, 56, filed for divorce mediation with Mrs. Hong on Nov. 9, Wednesday at the Seoul Family Court.
Divorce mediation is a process during which a husband and wife negotiate the terms of their divorce such as child custody spousal support without a formal trial. The process takes place in the presence of a mediator who acts as a neutral, third party that helps the divorcing parties to come to an agreement over non-negotiable decisions.
The filmmaker has reportedly already made several attempts to end his three-decade-long marriage through mutual consent. However Mrs. Hong refuses to sign the divorce papers, prompting Hong to file for divorce mediation. If Mr and Mrs Hong do not come to a mutual agreement during the mediation stage, they will have to hash it out in court, according to Korea Times.
Hong's affair with Kim grabbed headlines in June and became the hot topic of discussion after it was revealed that Hong and Kim met on the set of his 2015 film "Right Now, Wrong Then," in which the actress played the female lead. The movie won the Golden Leopard at the 68th Locarno Film Festival last year and also won critical acclaim in the U.S.
Last year, the director apparently confessed to his wife and daughter that he was having an affair with Kim and moved in with the actress, according to AllKPop. When Mrs. Hong confronted the "Handmaiden" actress, the 34-year-old star replied with, "That's why you should've managed your husband better."
Hong and his wife met in the U.S., where the filmmaker was completing his studies, and the two tied the knot in 1985. "I will never divorce him." Mrs. Hong said in an interview earlier this year. "I'm going to wait for him until I die. I still love my husband, and he loved me too. Everyone around us knows how family-oriented my husband is. I'm being hopeful. My husband will return to me."
