Park Min-young’s agency confirms Dispatch’s exposé, says she “has broken up” with Kang Jong-hyun

HOOK Entertainment’s CEO, Kwon Jin-young, shared that Park Min-young “has broken up” with the person mentioned in the Dispatch's reports (Kang Jong-hyun), on September 29, 2022.

The agency did not explicitly mention Kang Jong-hyun but confirmed that the Love in Contract actress was in a relationship with him.

According to Soompi, their statement read:

“First of all, Park Min-young has broken up with the individual mentioned in the dating rumors. Also, it is not true at all that actress Park Min-young received significant monetary benefits from the individual.”

It added that the actress’ sister also stepped back from her position as an “outside director” of INBIOGEN. As per Dispatch’s report, INBIOGEN and several other companies have Kang Jong-hyun as their CEO.

The 36-year-old actress’ ongoing drama Love in Contract was expected to suffer some consequences. However, the agency stated that the actress will be more careful in the future.

“It is currently her top priority to successfully complete filming for her ongoing drama Love in Contract, so she will do her best to not cause harm to the broadcast. Also, the actress will be more cautious about her actions as well as those of her family and everyone else connected to her to diligently show responsibility as an actress and public figure.”

Dispatch reveals troublesome information about Park Min-young's alleged boyfriend Kang Jong-hyun

On September 28, Dispatch, known for their relationship exposés, reported that Park Min-young was dating a wealthy, “reclusive” businessman born in 1982, named Kang Jong-hyun.

Jong-hyun holds chairman positions in multiple companies, including Vidente, Inbiogen, Bucket Studio, and Bithumb Live (under parent company Bithumb Holdings, South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange platform).

The couple getting out of the car together (Image via Dispatch)

As per Dispatch’s reports, their two-month-long investigation revealed that Kang Jong-hyun owns several luxury cars and a villa in Hannam-dong. It added that the Forecasting Love and Weather actress was also spotted going to work directly from the villa frequently, as opposed to from her house.

However, the discrepancy lies in the ownership of these luxury cars and villas. The publication suspects that the chairman is using borrowed names since none of these assets are registered under his name. Additionally, his English business card mentions the name “Jasper” and has multiple companies listed on it.

The CEO's English business card (Image via Dispatch)

As per their probe, he is called the hidden chairman of Bithumb since the company holds a 34% stake in his other company, Vidente, which, in turn, is the largest shareholder of Bithumb Holdings, the parent company of Bithumb.

Vidente and Inbiogen, companies Kang Jong-hyun’s card mentions he is the chairman of, denied him being the chairperson. When Dispatch contacted them to learn more about him, they received a hesitant answer from representatives of both companies:

“Kang Jong-hyun chairman? Who? There is only Kang Ji-yeon chairman here.”

Kang Ji-yeon is the chairman’s sister, which reinforced the publication's doubts. It is now believed that he operates under his sister’s name.

As per Dispatch’s reports, the 40-year-old businessman was sentenced to three years in prison by the Seoul Central District Court in 2014. He had defrauded about 3.50 billion KRW (about 2.45 million USD) by forging private documents and altering ledgers of A Capital Group company.

Left: Kang Jong-hyun's 2014 sentencing; Right: English translated version via Google Lens (Image via Dispatch)

According to Dispatch, the second fraud case was in 2016. He was involved in a loan scheme with a financial institution from 2013 to 2015 and still has unpaid dues worth 12.0 billion KRW (about 8.42 million USD).

Fans react to Dispatch’s report on Park Min-young’s relationship

Dispatch’s report on Park Min-young’s alleged relationship with CEO Jong-hyun spread like wildfire on the internet. The report was released on September 28 and instantly started trending on social media platforms.

The news received mixed reactions, with several people dismissing it as a joke. Fans expressed their sadness at their Park-Park ship (with Park Seo-joon) not being real.

However, others were concerned about the actress as Dispatch‘s investigation showed the CEO as a criminal.

Love in Contract, Min-young's current project, is an ongoing drama that premiered on September 21, 2022. It airs every Wednesday and Thursday on tvN.

About the author

Afreen has been a K-Pop Content Specialist at Sportskeeda since 2021. She holds a Bachelor's degree in English Literature, along with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication. Afreen has over 4+ years of working in various positions including being an entertainment content writer with Pinkvilla’s K-pop division Hallyutalk and CineDope, and as a copywriter at Flying Cursor.

As per Afreen, she loves her work because she gets to write about the things she is obsessed with. Her thorough research and following the two-genuine-source rule of journalism helps her produce the most accurate content, along with helping her be up-to-date with the industry.

Afreen has had the privilege to interview The Rose's frontrunner, WOOSUNG, and LIONESSES, K-pop's first openly LGBTQ+ group. She is a big fan of SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, BTS, and The Rose for their hard work, sincerity, and the comic relief their shows provide.

When she is off her shift, Afreen explores the streets of Nottingham in the UK, cooks, and listens to new music.

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Edited by Afreen Khan