Lee Dong Gun and Jo Yoon Hee met in the 2016 drama The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop and moved at lightning speed, getting married just two months after confirming their relationship. But their fairy-tale romance came to an abrupt end in 2020 when they announced their divorce after just three years of marriage, shocking fans nationwide.
Now, with attorney Park Min Cheol’s recent appearance on My Little Old Boy, the couple’s divorce is back in the spotlight. Introducing himself as Lee Dong Gun’s longtime friend and the lawyer who handled his divorce, Park shared, “I actually tried to talk him out of it. Dong Gun and his wife had very different views on what it meant to maintain a family. In all my years as a divorce attorney, he’s the only client I urged not to go through with it.”
Following Park’s comments, Jo Yoon Hee’s 2024 interview on TV Chosun’s All By Myself is also resurfacing. “I never thought divorce would be part of my story,” the actress said. “But I made the decision. It just wasn’t the marriage I had hoped for.” She added, “What matters most to me in a family is trust—and I realized we couldn’t be a family anymore. I thought long and hard, but divorce felt like the only way.”
Jo then opened up about her own upbringing: “My parents didn’t get along. I remember that cold, tense feeling as a child. I didn’t want my daughter to grow up in that same kind of environment.” She added, “I wasn’t afraid of raising her alone—I believed I could do it well. And I was confident I wouldn’t make her see her father in a negative light.”
Though the former couple no longer keep in touch privately, Jo said they communicate regularly about their daughter. “I send him photos and keep the lines open. If she wants to call him, she always can.”
Meanwhile, Lee Dong Gun is now rumored to be dating actress Kang Hae Rim, who is 16 years his junior. Though both have declined to comment, multiple sightings have all but confirmed the relationship—drawing criticism, especially since Lee once claimed he wouldn’t date again out of respect for his daughter.
>> Kang Hae Rim Speaks Up on Alleged Romance With 44-Year-Old Lee Dong Gun
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