Lee Seung Gi’s To-Be Mother In Law Kyeon Mi Ri Tries To Clear Her Family’s Name For The First Time In 13 Years

On February 7, Lee Seung Gi broke the news of his upcoming marriage to actress Lee Da In through a handwritten letter on his Instagram.

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Just before the announcement, Lee Seung Gi had gained huge public support in his fight against his ex-agency Hook Entertainment as it was revealed that they had scammed him out of his earnings for years. But the announcement turned the tide of popular support in the other direction quickly. And the reason were the controversies surrounding Lee Da In’s family.

Lee Da In is the daughter of veteran actress Kyeon Mi Ri and the sister of actress Lee Yoo Bi. The main source of controversy in their household, however, is Lee Hong Heon, Kyeon’s second husband and the step father of the Lee Da In.

Lee Hong Heon was arrested for multiple charges of stock manipulation and insider trading. His financial fraud created a lot of victims, which ticked off the Korean public against the family. So, when Lee Seung Gi, the victim of a scam, announced his marriage to Lee Da In, a lot of conversations were generated that he was marrying into a “family of scammers.”

The Full Story Behind Lee Seung Gi And Lee Da In’s Controversial Relationship

But that’s not all. Kyeon Mi Ri herself was associated with an embezzlement controversy, which is infamously known as the 2006-2007 “LUBO Incident” in Korea. Kyeon was a spokesperson of JU Group, a cult-like company that lured in investors, convinced them to buy stocks, and then blocked the stocks from being sold. It was one of the largest stock manipulation incidents in the country.

On February 16, Kyeon Mi Ri did an interview together with her legal representatives to “clarify” all the controversy surrounding her family for the first time since the allegations. She talked about her husband’s insider trading charges, stating that the money from the lawsuit was not used by her family but the company involved in the case. The second stock manipulation case against her husband is still pending court’s verdict, and according to Kyeon, the accusations are not true.

Regarding her involvement with JU Group, Kyeon explained that she was also a “victim” of the incident since the company wouldn’t pay her back unless she participated in their schemes.

The fact that this family allegedly victimized so many people financially was already enough for the public opinion to turn sour. What added fuel to the fire was certain news and social media posts that showed off the wealth the Lee family owned, which they apparently gained through scamming people. Kyeon Mi Ri was reported to have purchased a piece of land in Hannam-dong, Seoul, in 2007, where she built a 6-story villa, one floor for each of the family members. In the past, when Lee Da In had posted a picture of her new TV on Instagram with the caption, “finally got a TV for my room’s living room,” the public outrage was intense over her “flaunting” of her family’s wealth.

Kyeon Mi Ri touched on this incident as well in her recent interview. She clarified that the Hannam-dong villa was built on the money she earned and saved in her three-decade long acting career. She also justified that Lee Da In having her separate TV is not an instance of her showing off their wealth. Instead, it is a common thing that happens in many middle-class Korean households, and the TV itself was a usual $400 USD purchase from E Mart.

However, this interview has only aggravated the negative criticism against her and her family among Korean netizens. Not only did a large chunk of the general public not believe in her justifications, but they also found it insensitive that she is trying to co-opt the lifestyle of “normal” citizens after allegedly scamming so many of them.

• “So I read what she said in the interview… and she says that she thought people would forget about all of this once enough time had passed, and I find that such an irresponsible way to live. She claims she bought their house with her own money, but I truly wonder how much of his money was separate from hers as a married couple and if she is truly confident that not a cent of his money was spent on raising her two daughters? Yoo Bi-ssi, Da In-ssi, you two have never had to give up a dream because you didn’t have the money for it, right? You got to pursue all your education, vacations, hobbies with an easy life, at least from what we can see through what you’ve shown… I’m sure the children of the victims you scammed had dreams of their own. Hobbies they wanted to pursue… a lot of them. There are some things in this world that even “enough time passing” cannot restore. Your hope for your husband’s crimes to be forgotten is your own poisonous greed.”
• “Her daughters are suffering the karma of their parents’ crimes. Still, I can’t help but think of the pain their victims must feel having to see their faces on TV. Sigh.”
• “Seung Gi-ya, you’re a disappointment. “
• “What you committed were not mistakes. They were crimes.”
• “So many of your victims commit suicide. Is it really too much to just ask you to stay quiet? To stay off of TV and not show off your ultra-luxurious home with elevators on every floor, with decked out princess rooms and closets? Considering all that you’ve done and shown, how do you expect the public to accept Lee Seung Gi’s decision?”
• “To think that the nation’s son, the nation’s son-in-law Lee Seung Gi is now the son-in-law with a Kyeon daughter…tsk.”