South Korean actor Jung Woo-sung had admitted to fathering a child with model Moon Ga-bi on Nov 24. Photos: Jung Woo-sung/Instagram, Moon Ga-bi/Instagram
South Korean model Moon Ga-bi hit back at rumours circulating about her and South Korean A-list actor Jung Woo-sung, a little over a month after the pair revealed that they have a son together.
The 35-year-old model, who is not married to Jung, clarified that she and Jung were in a romantic relationship when she became pregnant and that she never used her pregnancy to get anything out of Jung. Moon reportedly gave birth in March.
She had dropped a surprise announcement on Nov 22 – her birthday – to reveal that she now has a son. On Nov 24, Jung, 51, admitted to fathering her child and said he would take full responsibility as a father.
The reveal caused much controversy and scrutiny in South Korea, which still views births outside of marriage as taboo. Since then, rumours have circulated about the nature of the pair’s relationship.
On Dec 28, Moon put out a lengthy post on Instagram, refuting the various “insulting” stories about her after she announced her son’s birth.
She wrote: “On my first birthday as a mother, I wanted to share this happy news with those who support me and acquaintances I cannot reach. The biggest reason was that I wanted my child to be blessed, and I wanted to be able to tell him later, ‘Mum wanted to show you off this much.’”
She then referred to “false” and “completely distorted” news stories filled with “insulting and cruel words” about her, her son and Jung, whom she referred to only as “that person” throughout the post.
She wrote: “Stories emerged saying ‘Moon Ga-bi had several meetings with a man she wasn’t even dating, became pregnant, and demanded marriage for child support purposes. But after being rejected, she went ahead with the birth without consent.’ There were even claims that my post on my personal social media account was published to defame that person’s reputation and to gain something.
“Since meeting at a gathering in 2022, (Jung and I) got to know each other deeper and continued a romantic relationship until the very last day of 2023.
“Since January 2024, I have not met the man who is my child’s father even once, and I never demanded marriage or anything else from that person because of the pregnancy.”
She said she had kept quiet up till this point because she wanted to protect her son and Jung.
“I did my best in my relationship with that person, and meeting this child who came to us as a gift within a normal and healthy relationship was a choice made by both parents... I don’t think it’s right to conclude that this child is a mistake and will be unhappy growing up simply because the relationship between (his mother and father) is somewhat different,” she said.
She added that she came online to refute the stories not in the hope of being praised, but because she hopes that her child’s arrival in the world is received with blessings, unencumbered by the spread of false information.
She said: “I think being clumsy and unprepared as a mother was a shortcoming, not a mistake or wrongdoing. This child is neither a mistake nor the result of a mistake.” – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
