After her divorce from Minhwan of K-pop boy band FTISLAND, Yulhee, formerly of girl group LABOUM, faced a barrage of malicious comments accusing her of "abandoning her children."
In response, she expressed her frustration and revealed that Minhwan frequented adult entertainment bars during their marriage.
In the evening of October 24, Yulhee uploaded an untitled video to her YouTube channel, which has about 300,000 subscribers.
After recently appearing on TV CHOSUN's television show "I Am Single Now" (literal title) and speaking for the first time since her divorce from Minhwan, Yulhee received both support and hateful comments.
When asked if she felt wrongly blamed, Yulhee said, "I'm only human, so there were definitely moments when I wanted to speak up. I chose divorce for myself, and the rest was for the children. I know I should address things before facing blame, but I was just puzzled by the sharp comments directed at me. I wanted to take an objective view first."
Yulhee emphasized that the divorce was settled through mutual agreement, saying, "We came to the decision solely through conversation, and I didn't feel it was right to assign blame or talk about faults. However, sometimes I felt upset and unfairly targeted. Why should I be the one receiving all this criticism?"
Yulhee then revealed the shocking incident that led her to decide on divorce at the end of last year, resulting in Minhwan gaining custody of their three children.
She stated, "About a year ago, something big happened between us. I found out that Minhwan had been visiting adult entertainment bars multiple times. After that, our marriage completely changed. He would sometimes touch me inappropriately and stick money into my chest when he was drunk, even in front of family. I later realized it was a habit."
She added, "I thought it was because he was just too drunk. But once I found out that it was due to his frequent visits to adult entertainment bars, I realized it was a problem that couldn't be resolved."
A private adult entertainment bar in Korea is a place where patrons can select female companions to drink with in private rooms, with options for further services, including sexual activities, that may be available upon request.
Physical interaction, including touching and intimate contact, is often permitted within the private rooms, and in some cases, the women may partially or fully undress.
Toward the end of the video, Yulhee released a 13-minute audio recording from July and August of 2022, in which Minhwan had multiple conversations with a broker, who connected clients with private entertainment venues.
In the recording, Minhwan is heard calling the broker multiple times to request reservations at entertainment bars and for female companions, even asking him to book a hotel room.
Minhwan says things like, "I sneaked out. Can you make a reservation at a bar? Do you know any good ones that are open?" "I just went to one, and there were no girls available. Can you get me into any bar with nice girls right now?" "I still need to pay the 2.3 million won (approximately 1,700 dollars) from last time, right? Do you use Telegram? Install the app and send me your bank account details via Telegram."
He continues, "Gangnam is packed right now. There are so many people at all the bars, and they all told me I'd have to wait an hour or two to get a room. I guess it's because it's the weekend. Can you find a good one for me? But if that's the case everywhere, just take me to any bar. I'm fine with waiting as long as I can get home by 7 AM."
He also asks, "Do you know any hotels around here? It's 4 AM, and I'm having trouble finding one. A love motel would be fine, too." At other times, he even asks, "Can you prepare a toothbrush for me before I get to the bar?"
Minhwan consistently called the broker between 2 AM and 5 AM, and during one call, when he asked if there was anywhere he could go since he was alone and it was the middle of the night, the broker tried to convince him to go home.
In response, Minhwan said with a chuckle, "Hyung, I'm free right now. Don't talk to me about my wife and kids. There's no need to talk about them."
Many reacted strongly to the recording, noting that even a broker—who would typically benefit from sending more clients to adult entertainment bars—advised Minhwan to save his money and take a trip with his wife and children instead, meaning even the broker thought Minhwan's regular visits to these bars were not right.
Since the release of the recording, Minhwan has faced significant public backlash.
This morning, his agency released a statement announcing that Minhwan will be suspending all activities for the time being.
(Credit= '율희의 집' YouTube, FNC Entertainment)