Singer Seo In-young (41) opened up on YouTube about her past controversy and how she’s doing after her divorce.
Seo recently launched a YouTube channel and on the 26th released a video called “Reading Hate Comments After 10 Years Away (Truth and Lies).” It’s her first time stepping in front of the camera on her own after a long hiatus of about 10 years.
Appearing in the stage makeup and fashion of her past promotions, Seo addressed the “power abuse” controversy from 2017. “It was wrong of me to swear like that. That part was my fault,” she admitted, while pushing back on some claims: “The so-called ‘gapjil list’ isn’t true. I’m not that vile of a person.”
The issue flared after a video surfaced showing her verbally abusing staff during a Dubai shoot for JTBC’s “With You Season 2.” Allegations then spread about her on-set attitude, pushing to change schedules, and asking for hotel and flight upgrades, ultimately leading her to halt activities.
“I hope people don’t hurt others with things that aren’t true,” she said. “Back then, my company told me to stay quiet, so I couldn’t respond. If it were now, I’d fight to the end.”
On how she felt at the time, she shared: “I took medication for panic disorder and depression and stepped away for years. I didn’t know I would fall apart like that. It was the biggest wound of my life, and there was a time I didn’t even want to live. In the end, I felt it was my fault. I make the choices and I take the responsibility. I want to mature. I want to live happily.”
She also spoke about her family’s reaction. “My dad said, ‘You’re the one who cursed. Those words came out of your mouth.’ My parents were so embarrassed they couldn’t even go to church,” she said.
Seo cautiously touched on her divorce as well. She married a non-celebrity businessman in February 2023, but a divorce suit was filed that September and the marriage ended a little over a year after the wedding. “Not long after we got married, we ended up divorcing. I can’t go into detail out of respect for the other party,” she said. “At the time, I didn’t want to work. I wanted to run away. I even considered retiring.”
She closed with a candid promise to fans: “I don’t think I can pretend to be nice. If that’s what it takes, I won’t do it. I want to show myself as I am, and show how I’m growing. I’ll try, but I don’t know how it’ll go.”
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)