Han Hye Jin recently expressed her support for her husband soccer player Ki Sung Yueng after his negative comments about a former coach surfaced online and caused a scandal.
"This is a difficult time for us," said the actress on this week's episode of the SBS show "Healing Camp." "Because we both have jobs that keep us in the public eye, we are really taking a beating. We're down now but this will pass and things will get better."
The soccer player got a lot of negative feedback for comments he made about his former national soccer team manager Choi Kang Hee. In his column last week, soccer reporter Kim Hyun Hoe quoted comments written by Ki Sung Yueng on one of his social media accounts. One of the comments complained that manager Choi Kang Hee started nagging him before he showed up for a game.
"He's been nagging me even before my arrival, so now I bet he's hoping I fail," read the comments. "Hahahaha. This will be interesting."
The comments also said that Ki Sung Yueng was disappointed because he did not get to play in the first half of a game.
"I was so shocked because I didn't get to play for the first half, but I bet everyone now knows that the team needs players from overseas," said the comments. "He shouldn't have touched us, and I hope he doesn't show his proud face again. Watch out."
His words may have been intended as a joke but some considered them threatening.
Ki Sung Yueng's agency said the account might be faked. It would not be the first time that a social media page was created in a celebrity's name. The reporter insisted that it was the soccer player's account. At first Ki Sung Yueng did not comment.
However, a few days after the incident, Ki Sung Yueng apologized to his coach and deleted the comments. But netizens did not believe his apology was sincere so he shut down his Facebook page altogether. The only venue that netizens then had to voice their displeasure was Han Hye Jin's home page. As a result of the negative comments, the star of the dramas "Syndrome" and "Thorn Birds" was forced to shut it down. But the actress refuses to let the comments affect her. She is working hard to remain calm for her own sake and her husband's.
"It's important for athletes to remain calm and focused, so I believe I can help him with this," said Han Hye Jin, who will soon leave "Healing Camp" to join her husband in England. "We will learn through the incident and mature. We hope to become better people as a result."
The first thing Ki Sung Yueng may want to learn is a basic social media lesson: never criticize your boss on Facebook or any social media site. It may seem like you are only talking to your friends and fans but the whole world is watching.
