Gong Yoo explains his ‘Cool guy Park Chung-hee’ remarks “I didn‘t know and I was careless” [DA:Interview]

Actor Gong Yoo explained his remarks about former President Park Chung-hee.

During an interview with Netflix’s ‘Trunk’ held at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 5th, Gong Yoo explained his mention of former President Park Chung-hee in a past interview. In a 2005 interview with a magazine, when asked “Who do you think is the coolest man?”, he answered “My father, Michael Jordan, Park Chung-hee”.

The martial law declared by the Yoon Seok-yeol government on the night of the 3rd was declared 45 years after the death of former President Park Chung-hee in 1979. As interest in martial law grew, Gong Yoo‘s past remarks were brought to light again, and some netizens even discussed his political leanings.

When asked about it during the interview, Gong Yoo responded, “I remember it as a fashion magazine that covered very light fashion 20 years ago. It was a written interview. I guess I didn’t know much because I had just debuted, and the question itself wasn‘t focused on historical aspects or anything like that.”

He said, “In the end, I think there were some parts where I wasn’t careful. The important thing is that I didn‘t live with any kind of wrong moral or ethical awareness,” and confessed, “There are parts that have been reinterpreted or added to that I’ve never said with my own mouth. I think, ‘I should have been more careful,’ but I didn‘t live that way, so that’s the most important fact.”

Gong Yoo said, “I couldn‘t sleep until the moment martial law was lifted because I was so anxious about what happened two days ago (the declaration and lifting of martial law), just like many people. I confessed, ”I’m that kind of person.“

Meanwhile, ‘Trunk’, which Gong Yoo starred in, is a six-part drama that depicts a secret marriage service that begins to be revealed due to a trunk floating on the lakeside and the strange marriage story of a man and a woman inside it. It was released on Netflix on the 29th of last month.

Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com