If you're having a hard time keeping up with the lawsuits that Kim Hyun Joong is involved in, you're not alone. The history of legal interaction between Kim and his ex grows longer by the day. And it's not helping anyone's reputation.
Kim's ex girlfriend, identified only as Choi, is currently suing him for $1 million claiming psychological damages from a miscarriage that she alleges she suffered in 2014 as a result of what she claims was his abuse. She has not yet presented concrete evidence to substantiate a pregnancy ever took place. She did release thousands of texts between herself and the singer-actor, which mentioned another aborted pregnancy and did not exactly provide a favorable impression of their relationship.
Kim's legal team, headed by Lee Jae Man, said the texts were taken out of context. They had already counter-sued her for defamation, blackmail and fraud before the texts were released.
Choi then additionally sued Kim Hyun Joong and Lee Jae Man for defamation of character, saying that throughout her lawsuit they had gone out of their way to portray her in a negative light. Her legal team, Sun & Partners, said that Kim Hyun Joong's legal team had unjustly accused her of lying about the pregnancy and abuse.
On August 11, her legal team announced that they would drop their defamation suit and focus on the original case. According to a statement they released to the Korean media outlet OSEN, they did not want the latest defamation case to detract from the original court case. Her lawyer Sun Jong Moon said that he hoped the truth would be revealed in court. He asked Kim Hyun Joong's team to refrain from making slanderous statements to the media.
It's not the first time that Choi changed her mind about taking legal action against Kim. Choi filed four charges of physical assault against Kim in August 2014, then withdrew three of them. It was later learned that she accepted a $500,000 settlement for her silence. Kim's legal team alleges that by the time she filed her assault charges in August 2014, she had already received $100,000 in medical fees.
According to a statement by Lee, the $500,000 payment could be considered extortion. The $1,000,000, which Kim is counter-suing her for includes returning the $500,000 previously given to her plus another $500,000 for breaking the agreement.
After the assault charges were dropped, Choi and Kim reunited after the incident and vacationed together. They broke up again. In January, she announced that she was pregnant. That child is expected in September 2015. Kim is currently serving his two-year mandatory military duty.
