Just five days after the controversy over his extramarital affair broke out, Jung Woo-sung attended an official event and directly mentioned the issue, leading to sharply different views from the film industry and the public on his attempt to ‘confront it head-on’.’ While film industry insiders are embracing Jung Woo-sung, netizens are still showing a cold reaction to the various suspicions surrounding Jung Woo-sung‘s private life that have continued since the controversy.

Jung Woo-sung caught the public’s attention on November 29th when he appeared as a nominee for the Best Actor Award (Spring of Seoul) at the 45th Blue Dragon Film Awards, which was broadcast live on KBS 2TV.

There were some reports that Jung Woo-sung would not attend the awards ceremony due to the controversy over his extramarital affair, but he confidently stood on stage as a presenter to present the Most Viewed Award for his first ‘10 million film’, ‘Spring of Seoul’.

Jung Woo-sung began by saying, “I would like to thank all the audience members who watched ‘Spring of Seoul’,” on stage. He continued, “I am here with the hope that the film will not be tarnished by my personal matters. I sincerely apologize for causing concern and disappointment.” He also mentioned the controversy over his illegitimate child, saying, “I will take all the blame and carry it with me. As a father, I will take full responsibility for my son to the end.”
Despite the controversy, industry insiders are unanimously supporting him. Most film industry insiders are applauding Jung Woo-sung‘s actions of standing in front of the public and apologizing and taking responsibility instead of hiding or avoiding it, and this reaction was also evident at the Blue Dragon Film Awards, where Jung Woo-sung was met with applause. Even his junior actors, such as Lim Ji-yeon and Park Joo-hyun, were caught on camera cheering for Jung Woo-sung.
Above all, insiders unanimously say that this controversy should not belittle or distort Jung Woo-sung’s past achievements and career as an actor. An official from a production company cautiously stated, “Jung Woo-sung is an important actor and filmmaker who cannot be left out of the Korean film industry,” and “I think it is wrong to doubt his sincerity toward films due to a series of controversies that are not even illegal.”

However, the public’s response is as cold as ice. Following the confession of his extramarital affair, public opinion has worsened as suspicions spread online that Jung Woo-sung had approached ordinary women several times through SNS messages. In particular, this atmosphere has poisoned his good and honest image, which he has built up by actively speaking out on various social issues such as refugees.

Jung Woo-sung’s past remarks on love, women, and social issues are spreading like ‘memes’ online, becoming the target of ridicule, and there are even reactions that it is difficult to immerse oneself in the righteous characters that Jung Woo-sung has mainly played so far.


Reporter Seungmi Lee smlee@donga.com