Son Heung Min to Kim Seon Ho: Korean stars in shocking abortion scandals

Korean actors, idols and celebrities are no strangers to controversies or scandals. From abuse and assault claims to dating and abortion scandals, a lot of such cases have been coming to light in recent times, bringing years of hard work, crashing down. Over the past week, footballer Son Heung Min's abortion scandal sent shockwaves through the industry and social media alike. However, he is not the only one. Several other stars have also been drought under the scanner in multiple other scandals of a similar nature. Take a look:

Son Heung Min found himself involved in a major abortion scandal when his former partner came forth claiming that she's pregnant. The footballer who lifted the UEFA 2025 cup as the proud Tottenham Hotspur captain allegedly paid her off with 300 million KRW. Later on, her current partner reportedly ended up trying to blackmail the footballer for another 70 million KRW.

In a recent report from K-media news outlet Channel A, it was reported that the woman in fact had an abortion. While the ultrasound scans that she provided were truthful and belonged to her, it has not, however, been confirmed whether the pregnancy was by Heung Min or not.

Reports state that the woman and her partner are now in jail after an official complaint was filed from Heung Min's side with the police.

Kim Seon Ho is another popular name on the list that has managed to become the centre point of an abortion controversy. In 2021, the actor became embroiled in controversies after his ex-girlfriend alleged that he had tried to pressure her into forcefully getting rid of a pregnancy. The actor had to even take a break from his career at the time due to the massive backlash; however, the claims were later debunked to be false. According to reports from K-media news outlet Dispatch, it was found that no such incident had occurred and the actor’s name was officially cleared in public. It was found that the abortion was done by mutual agreement between both parties and that he had broken up with his girlfriend due to her infidelity.

Another celebrity in the world of Korean sports, basketballer Heo Ung’s ex-partner, also made similar claims to the last two cases. In 2024, the player was accused of allegedly forcing his ex-partner to have not one but two abortions in June. As per Allkpop, this case was also debunked after the basketball player filed a case against her in Gangnam Police Station for blackmail and defamation. Heo Ung’s ex-girlfriend had been extorting money from him in order to keep quiet about their relationship and other details.

The case was dismissed after it was found that the forceful abortion claims were false and that she simply wished to extort and gain money from the popular basketball player. His ex-girlfriend had also made claims that during a visit to a hotel in 2021, an argument between the couple had turned physical and that he had hit her as well, causing damages.

Actor Kim Hyun Joong, who has featured as one of the leads in one of the most popular K-dramas, 'Boys Over Flowers, has also been at the centre of a similar controversy. The legal battle around this controversy also lasted 5 years and came to an end only in 2020 after a court dismissed the actor’s ex-girlfriend’s claims. She had initially claimed that the actor had physically assaulted her and had also coerced her into getting an abortion. She, however, did not get an abortion, and gave birth to the actor’s child in 2015 and then continued the legal battle of suing Hyun Joong for billions of KRW in damages. Instead, after the court ruled in the actor’s favour, his ex-partner was also ordered to pay damages worth 100 million KRW to the actor for defaming him.