Actress Han Hyo-joo joins Peter Lim's daughter Kim in taking legal action over K-pop scandal gossip

SEOUL - First it was Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim's daughter Kim Lim, who threatened legal action after she found her name was dragged into a K-pop scandal.

Now, it is the turn of South Korean A-list actress Han Hyo-joo whose lawyer has filed a lawsuit against 33 people for spreading rumours over her alleged connection to Burning Sun.

The club, said to be owned by former BigBang singer Seungri, has been in the news for reportedly evading taxes and admitting minors, among other misdeeds.

"Actress Han Hyo-joo is simply the endorsement model for cosmetics brand JM Solution; she has never once set foot inside Burning Sun, neither did she attend (a dinner) which took place at the club on Nov 23, 2018," her lawyer said in a statement.

According to the allkpop portal, the lawyer added that Han's reputation was dented by the actions of the 33 people.

Han, 32, is a reliable box-office star, winning Best Actress for Cold Eyes (2013) at the 34th Blue Dragon Film Awards.

Socialite Kim Lim, 27, took action in March after Seungri revealed in an interview that he enlisted women to hang out with "Kimmy", the "daughter of a Singapore-born owner of a well-known football club" and a long-time friend of his.

Netizens said he could be talking only about Ms Lim, whose father has a stake in Spanish football club Valencia.

Ms Lim posted that she had "never asked for 'girls' to party with" during her visit to the Arena club with friends on Dec 9, 2015.

"Just to be clear, I had no inkling/idea of the alleged criminal activities going on in Burning Sun/Seungri's businesses before this saga broke out. I'm not involved in any way whatsoever."

She warned that her lawyers would go after anyone who continued to link her to the K-pop scandal.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.