Top Star Couple Faces Renewed Backlash After Revealing The Real Reason They Left Korea

In 2020, actress Son Tae Young left Korea to live in New Jersey with her two children. She has since revealed, in her recent appearance on comedian Hong Jin Kyung‘s YouTube show, that the decision came after she received an immense amount of hate in 2018.

When Hong Jin Kyung asked Son Tae Young about her life in the US, her actor husband, Kwon Sang Woo, noted that he wanted the kids to “grow up surrounded by nature.” And because Son Tae Young’s older sister was already living in the US, the relocation didn’t feel too difficult.

On the other hand, Son Tae Young addressed the scandal that preceded the move.

In 2018, Son Tae Young’s firstborn son and her niece were spotted sitting among the artists on stage at the “2018 Melon Music Awards.” K-Pop fans criticized the actress, who was attending the show to present an award, for giving the children preferential treatment.

At the time, the actress explained that she had to bring them with her because she didn’t have anyone to watch them, and she didn’t know the seats were reserved for the attending artists, as well as that her children were there to watch her, not the idols. While these “excuses” were not received well, the actress reiterated them on the show, swearing that it was not an act of undue privilege.

Son Tae Young: My son was playing games in the waiting room while I was getting ready. A staff writer told us the seats were empty and said it was okay to sit there. I just told them to figure it out with my company CEO, finished what I was there to do, and went home. The next day, it blew up and was trending on real-time searches.

Kwon Sang Woo: It ended up being framed as special treatment. But at that age, our son didn’t even know who the singers were.

Son Tae Young then got emotional, noting how the whole scandal made her feel like she didn’t belong in the Korean entertainment business.

That incident made me think, ‘Oh, I don’t belong here. I need to leave.’ Since it happened because of me, I felt like I should apologize and just quickly move to the US. But it didn’t take long before I realized being alone there is very different from having my husband with me.

— Son Tae Young

Unfortunately, the couple’s appearance on the YouTube show, along with their reference to the past scandal, has led to renewed backlash. Viewers slammed Kwon Sang Woo and Son Tae Young for still failing to recognize what was wrong about their actions.

• “If she moved out of the country, she should’ve just lived quietly.”
• “It’s honestly surprising that even after all this time, they still don’t understand what the problem was. Celebrities really are something else.”
• “The kids are just kids. There was no reason for people to draw red circles around them to call them out. So vicious, LOL. It’s not like hardcore idol fans could’ve sat there instead if they hadn’t. I don’t even get why people are so angry.”
• “Wow… Please, just stay quiet. Let the public forget already… seriously…”
• “I’m just learning about that incident for the first time through this.”
• “The conclusion she came to is that she doesn’t belong in Korea? LMAO.”
• “I get that people often bring family to award shows, but even that in itself counts as special treatment.”
• “Ugh, I had totally forgotten about this, but they just had to bring it up… It was undoubtedly preferential treatment. No other celebrity has ever brought non-industry family members and seated them in the singers’ waiting section…”
• “They say people with privilege treat it as naturally as breathing and don’t even realize it’s special treatment… This feels exactly like that.”
• “This couple is unlikable as a pair.”

Watch the full video here: