Actor Lee Byung Hun has returned to Korea to testify in the blackmail trial of GLAM's Da Hee and model Lee Ji Yeon. But he returned to Korea alone, without his wife actress Lee Min Jung.
The actor will head to court on the 24th to provide testimony against the women he alleges tried to extort $5 million from him. They allegedly threatened to release video footage of him engaged in a sexually explicit conversation. He immediately reported the attempt to the police.
From the time that the news of the blackmail attempt first broke, until his recent trip to Los Angeles, the actor and his wife have lived separately. She remained at her parents' Gangnam home and did not leave their home for any professional duties. There was much speculation that the marriage was in trouble. Her representatives denied that the marriage was troubled, saying the actress was staying with her parents because she wanted to avoid the reporters that camped outside the actors' marital home. Her representatives claimed the marriage was stronger than ever and that she would soon be returning to work. Her last role was in the romantic comedy "Cunning Single Lady."
Lee Byung Hun publicly apologized to his fans, friends and family for having made himself vulnerable to blackmail before he left for the U.S. on Oct. 20. His wife joined him in Los Angeles shortly thereafter. The couple was seen together in Los Angeles where the actor was fulfilling promotional duties for the California Tourism Board and meeting with Hollywood producers. He previously appeared in two Hollywood films, "Red 2" and "G.I. Joe: Reconciliation."
Sightings of the couple in Los Angeles reported that they looked comfortable together. After spending time with his wife, the actor arrived alone in Korea to attend the latest trial.
Since they were arrested both Da Hee and Lee Ji Yeon have submitted multiple letters of apology to the court. After they were arrested the two women admitted to most of the charges. However, they claimed that the blackmail attempt was not premeditated but was an emotional response to the break-up of a three-month relationship between the actor and Lee Ji Yeon. Lee Byung Hun denied that he had a relationship with Lee Ji Yeon. He said he saw the women socially with a mutual friend over a three-month period but decided to stop seeing them after he learned of their financial problems.
