So basically the 22 yr old is suing him because he ignored her when she moved to Korea? Poor dear. I'm sorry but if this is all there is to this story, it's a ridiculous waste of taxpayer money. There is no case.

After reading Samsooki's explanation about Korean laws, I've got this to say：
note to pop stars, rock stars, celebrities in Korea, Stop f*cking around with groupies!

I just had another thought....could this turn into a class action suit in Korea? What if other girls (yes, young girls) or women come out, can they join the lawsuit (sex with a promise or deceit)?
LBH seems to have a reputation in that arena, I really think and agree with some that he should also be punished (somehow). Of course the reality or absurdity of this as some have mentioned is questionable.
I think LBH is a great actor, and I agree that private life is not the same as public life, but shouldn't he still be accountable for his deeds? The "no one should be above the law" saying, although here again, the law is debatable.
Shouldn't a public figure have some responsibility for their actions? After all, it is thanks to their public figure that they are able to get away with things....

@49 - Randomness

I didn't expect LBH to be a perfect man who came with flowers and shining armor but I expected him to be a decent man who were into a relationship with a woman appropriate for his age. I guess I asked too much. I agree that of course it's not illegal for him to date a 22 year old and had sex with her. BUT, isn't there a society standard by which he is expected to behave? do you think his mom or sister would approve of him dating a girl? do I want someone like him to be my husband? NO!

I still think he's a great actor but I no longer see him as a decent man...again I didn't say PERFECT. Just like Tiger WOods, I don't care if the women want money from him or not, but as a matter of fact, he put himself in a cage.

11 tinyviolin -

Wait….what?

You can sue someone for being a shitty boyfriend??

*******************************************
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Man I wish I had known this before... I could have been raking in come cash. :)

@Samsooki
BUT, I don’t think everyone knows all the facts yet. We have two sets of allegations, and both cannot be true at the same time.

At this point, nobody knows the truth, and I don’t think it is necessarily fair (or accurate) to repeat the claim that this was blackmail. Maybe the woman was correct in the first place…

^^^^Totally agree with this statement here... and thanks for the awesome explanation on the law...

what did he do so wrong to warrant a big case? He's a consenting adult and so is the woman. It's not like he's pulling an R.Kelly? And it's not just the business of his private life, it's precisely the fact that he's a public figure that's why he's even getting on to this case.

"young girls"? Are we serious here? The woman is well over 18.

And this is not comparable to Tiger Woods... Woods is a married man who is a jerk and has caused so much damage to his WIFE and family. That's a whole different story. He violated his marriage and that is worth criticizing.

LBH is a single guy... who dumped his girlfriend. Jerk. Yes. Idiot. Yes. Bad boyfriend. Yes. Criminal? Worth suing over? No.

Who he may have had promised marriage but like any realistic relationship... it fails. Decency? In what way? For him not to go after women over 21? For him to not to be in relationships?

What?

"22 year old Kwon Mi Yeon from Canada, claims to be Lee Byung Hun's ex-girlfriend. She also claims that Lee Byung Hun tricked her into bed by promising marriage, and has suffered emotionally as a result."

Reading this statement gives me intuition that the woman was possibly a virgin and oh so charming Lee Byung Hun showed his manhood, and she fell head over hills in love and gave her "flower" to him. He dumped her and she is angry because he had deflowered her.

Don't worry too much about class actions or common law in general etc, there is something called divine justice, cause and effect of nature. Whatever goes around wil come around. Ultimately, if his motive is pure, he has nothing to worry about. If he has ulterior motive i.e. wanting something out of "love" or using the girl for pleasure (but may be both way, then is square off)...

With or without sufficient factual evidence, but true in the law of Korea, he may even win the litigation and successfully having the girl removed from Korea. Neverthelesss, his reputation has already tinted, and this experience will be with him the rest of his life.

BTW, I do not think he will lost any of his fanbase in long run, look at Bill Clinton debacle with Monika. As far as I know, he is still very respectful, and well-like by people around the world. People's memory are short. Interestingly, when you are in high places, the "elite crime" is very much forgiven or somewhat people turned a blind eye to it.

Similar scenario applies to Polanki. Would you watch another his movie? The answer is most likely Yes, despite he is a convict that "jump bail" with pedofile charges.

I bet many of you will still continue to watch IRIS, despite all the scandals. Fame begets more fame.

IRIS has attracted alot of attention. As the old saying goes, when there is sugar, that's where it attracts ants....

OT, hope this thing not going to happen to my man 'RAIN'. He said he's looking for wife, hope there will be no crazy women/girl that will replicate this.

BTW-the story given by the media from both side looks fishy, there must be something BEHIND THE SCENE story.

The lesson is don't have sex because someone promised to marry you. If a guy promises to marry you so they can get some tang, chances are he is a douche bag.

Sure the situation was probably not as straightforward as this, and probably alot of mental play's done, but she could have been a bit more sensitive to her own needs and values. It seems like she values her virginity and marriage before sex but out of insecurity (didn't want to lose the guy) or inexperience she gave it up. It sounds like a kind of regret that won't win you anything in court.

If she can prove his behavior shift so he can get laid and prove that he consciously shifted it to manipulate her, then she may have a shot. Don't pimps have their ways to condition a young woman to do things she may have not want to do?

He on the other hand is good looking enough to get sex without yapping about marriage. Him being an famous where lots of people prey on him, he may really need to put a huge weight on the word "marriage" and not say anything about it until he's ready to drop a ring. Can't be helped, he needs to do some things differently than us common folk.

for argument's sake, someone like say Polanski, R.Kelly, or Chris Brown will never ever have my support again because I thought what they did is repulsive. They actually have facts to back it up, too.

This may warp some people's point of view of Lee Byung Hun, but maybe I'm cynical enough to take it in stride. I do not find it offensive but maybe it's a matter of culture and law. But I think her foundation for a case is very weak. I think people are freaking out because Korean stars are just so concerned with their public persona, they are all very squeaky clean... that's why the company is freaking out.

This is just so stupid... I don't even understand what the girl wants. Is that just like "she left me with a big house, but he's never at hom boo-hoo". Who cares? I mean, she's going out (WAS going out) with a huge star, didn't she expect that kind of situation? I don't know what kind of person is Lee Byung Hun, but I guess he's like all the other big stars (a bit self-centered, a bit snobbish, a bit capricious, and, oh yes, very famous and very rich).
That's why being involved in a relationship with a star means "I don't exist anymore and I have to bear with the fact that I'm just a beautiful lady/man that is by a famous man/woman's side".

What's more, this lady doesn't seem to be innocent either, so... she has no rights to sue LBH. I'm sure she does it for money.
No real evidence, no judgement. Taking LBH to court would just harm HER since she's basing her accusations on.. nnnnnnnnnn... nothing XD. Almost.

I adore LBH but I have to say this is a bit disappointing. and I'm in my late 20's.

Yes, her lawsuit does seem baseless but, if he's going to be dating women 3 years removed from their teens, he should expect some immaturity.

I guess the lesson for both is, if you decide to go into a situation, be prepared for the outcome.

the girl is indeed a gold digger! thats what she gets from dreaming of becoming a 'fake' princess someday..lol i hate those kind of girls.. urg!

I don't really understand the charges. Maybe that's b/c it's over a break-up/neglect and a fishy group of men. I really hope that group of men didn't threaten her in some way to pull these charges (I didn't even think of this possibility until after reading some of the comments above).

If those sneaky men are in fact in league and on the same page with her, then my response is: WTF. I understand about the cultural differences (from an above comment) but the thing is: people are manipulated everyday. The manipulation of the idea of going to another country to be with a guy and blah blah blah...people take that risk everyday. There were no harmful manipulations outside of "oh, I'll possibly marry you later..". Dude, really? You're going to believe a superstar? Unless you've lived in a shell all your life, it's inherent that someone with so much fame and good lucks can't really be trusted in that vein. Furthermore, she's been abandoned in that splendid house?

Possible strategy that would've gotten her more money in a direct way: She should've just directly threatened him with going to the media about his treatment of her. If he wanted to uphold his image, he would've just complied and then she would've gone back to Canada a richer woman.

I would say most men given the opportunity (I want to highlight that I'm not saying all men) would sleep with an attractive 22 yo. Its not an excuse or judgement on him or other men but just a statement.

Tiger's news didn't surprise me and in fact I'm surprised at all the people who were surprised. Tiger is a billion dollar+ business and behind that magic is a powerful PR/spin machine. Is it hypocrisy to sell the image of wholesomeness for profit? Yes, but is it on the scale as bernie madoff, no. Would we do what Tiger did for that kind of dough. I believe higher than 95% of us would.

Has anyone seen HERO the Japanese drama? There was a case that sounded a bit like this. Men who sued a woman because they gave money when they thought she would marry them, but after that she breaks off with them. I happen to think the men had more cause to sue than this girl. However, the point of that whole episod was that you couldn't prove someone's heart. She might have really loved them and intended on marrying them, but changed her mind. It was highly unlikely given all the circumstantial facts but in the end how could you really prove someone's intention in a relationship? BTW, I didn't give away the ending to this episod for those who want to check it out.

This case sounds kinda iffy to me. If the group of men who blackmailed him wasn't in the picture than I would just feel bad for the girl and LBH. The girl being naive and doing dumb things over a breakup and LBH for being not smart enough to stick to mature women... ie. me for example. :-) However, once you add the group of men then things doesn't seem that straight forward anymore.

Seriously, that is just fucked up. She's the one that moved to another country for cocky before she made sure the relationship was stable. She doesn't have anyone to blame but herself on that part.

Promising marriage? If there is no ring on your finger and he hasn't asked your parents, I say promise my ass. That's why I can't stand girls that jump all into a relationship without a care. They get all into it and when things go poof they start up with the stupidness.

Lets hope the idiot actually has a case, cus if she didn't (which I believe) and she just brought this up out of spite, I hope he takes her to the cleaners.

I will admit that, even though I am mildly disappointed (hence the name "mildly disappointed"), my panties would, indeed, EXPLODE INTO DUST PARTICLES if LBH so much as looked in my direction right now. So, I don't think reason factors in when deciding if one should be involved with him, or not. *teehees*

And I still think her lawsuit should be thrown out.

wow this girl is crazy suing for $86k...what I'll be suing at least $20 million dollars for emotional distress.....this got to be th year of cheaters!!!!!.....and IRIS can't seem to stop all the scandals......IRIS CURSE ???????

LBH I recommned that you get married soon..or...date women your own age ....or older....but please not little girls who are just out of the nursery room...

The reason why men and women date are for these reasons:.....
1...to fall in love.
2...to get married and have kids..
3...just to have sex
4...to have someone because they don't want t0 be lonely..
5...to have sex... oh shit..

Boys and girls.....we can never tell the future...... relationships, even marriage are not forever. Everyone was born to live his and her own life.... Have some self-worth, self-respect, and self-love....

Yeah, that 22 year old girl needs a lot of growing up to do still.
She should feel priviledged and honor that someone like LBY even looked at her.....he probably regrets meeting such an immature little girl....

oh yeah..... regarding TIGER WOODS. I would not sleep with him for a bazillion dollars.. he looks like a malnourish gurilla. LBY...I would sleep with him for free. OMGGGGGGgg. HOT!! enough of my shpeel...

snuffymonkey*
I agree with you I go to York University too and all the girls tend to always dress so damn nicely even if its 8 in the fucking morning -_- I have often gone in my pj's lol but yeah this sounds so fishy I never knew you could sue someone for a break up but she was so stupid to give up everything she had for the sake of marriage that he never promised -_- honestly I think some girls today want to go back to the victorian era to find LOVE sigh I hope things get cleared up soon.

@ mildly disappointed

"my panties would, indeed, EXPLODE INTO DUST PARTICLES if LBH so much as looked in my direction"

somehow I have image of a exploding panty bomb. haha! LOL. You just made my day. You bring new meaning to the words "don't get your panties in a knot"

Wait . . . a Canadian/Korean GYMNAST?

For some reason I find this funny. Hope it doesn't ruin his career though.

yeah from the content of the article i think she just wants money
=) bad bad bad
be grateful that you were able to live a very exciting life albeit temporary

GIRL, you went for the wrong man. should have gone with tiger. his wife is reportedly getting $75 million to stay married to him for five years. (could just be a baseless rumor but i believe it)

all jokes aside, i don't know lbh as an actor or person but i have to say, no matter who's right or wrong, this probably doesn't look too great for him haha

@samsooki,

thank you!! brilliantly explicated. (i'm still laughing at cookies and lawn mowing)

yup, culture is everything -- can't forget that.

Some of you don't think this can happen in the US? Check this out -

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091209/ap_on_en_mo/us_people_nicolas_cage

no blackmailing but there's a lawsuit.

Cage's Christina Fulton is a very different case ... they got a kid together and have some finances they have to deal with. She had that house before and now he kicks her out. Cage has been totally reckless with his finances and she's one of the bajillion who is suing him.

@ 81

Not so different - the article said her name wasn't even on the title of the house so she never "had that house" - she probably lived there thinking that she owned the house. She's not suing for back child support ("adult son") or anything like that......

I agree that it's not exactly the same thing as LBH's situation but the point is that people DO get sued for false promises, "fraud" etc. here in the US too.

True, but I feel it has more to do with finances... than over... ya know a douchebag boyfriend. I just have a feeling Fulton may have more of a case than Ms.Gymnast here.

can you say GOLD DIGGER??
so obviously she made a plan with her 'mysterious group of men' to date and lure this guy for his money. Probably when he figured it out he dumped. Upset about the fact she couldnt marry into riches her boys were set to work blackmailing him

Like HELLO its a relationship, not a contract!! He didnt abuse her or anything, he just dumped her. If she wanted money when he dumped her gold digging but then she should have come up with a contract. But she has no proof of him saying they were to marry, and its not illegal to break up. She's only getting away with it cuz hes famous.

Gosh, thanks for making Canadian women look bad!

First of all, I want to see what she looks like first...she has to be worthy to think she can be the future MRS. LBH...and did he even present her with a promise ring of some sort for her to claim anything. And so we can conclude if our relationship fizzles out we can sue? Tell this girl to get real. This is not the first heartbreak she will experience she is young still.

Hopefully LBH is learning a lesson here. Be careful who you trifle with! Firstly, why is he messing with a 22yr old? He should know by now that young women of that age are a little naive and prone to fantasy. She slept with him because she thought he was going to marry her! Then she comes up with(or is involved in) this revenge plot to blackmail him. Doesn't sound to mature to me.
Secondly, why set her up in Seoul? Major error of judgment. My guess is she's the clingy needy type who requires a lot of attention he didn't have the time to give.
I think LBH's star power will survive this little scandal, being the "BadBoy" can spice up the image a bit!

She wants to sue because he lured her into a sexual relationship with false promises of marriage??
yes, moving to the same city as the guy is a big step in a relationship. BUT its not like he asked her to move IN with him. And even then, that's not really a promise of marriage either!
Unless they were publicly engaged, (and by public I mean friends and family) I dont think this girl has a few loose screws....
Scary.

So the moral of the story is for the men of Korea: Don't date or flirt with anyone unless you plan on "put[ting] a ring on it". Haha.

THis 22 year old woman who is not even a Korean nationality filed a lawsuit against LBH, a famous rich Korean actor. Of course, the media would side with LBH and wrote the story that made her sound like a gold digger. There are always two sides of a story. How much do fans really know about LBH's private life? none! you really never know what goes on behind the closed doors. Many men who seem to lead a quiet life and good persona in public may not be so in their private life. So before we start putting all the blame on this woman, we should not forget that it takes two to tango. Let's just hope there won't be another or more women appear!

If he's innocent, he shouldn't settle off court because that will make him look bad (ie, paying the girl off to shut up) but fight in court.

How much this will impact his career? i say very minimal. If this were a woman, she can say goodbye to her career. Unfair but reality.

@ 83

Finances or "a douchebag boyfriend" - I don't think really matters - what it comes down to is that both women probably felt like they didn't get what they thought they were promised (LBH - marriage, Nic Cage - house). If what Samsooki said is true then, in front of the judge they might both be considered "breach of contract" cases and be given serious consideration. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out........

Ok...now that I've gotten over the sheer childish directness of suing your ex (wish I'd thought of it!!), I see how she might have a point.

If the conversation went like this:

LBH: Oh yes, of course, I will marry you after you arrive in Korea. Oh! I can't wait to get married! Squeeeee!

RandomGirl: Me too! Everyone is gonna be sooooo jealous! Ha! See you at the airport, honey!

LBH: Yep. See you then....(quietly) Score...

~~~Obviously, the conversation might have been more serious than that, but if LBH intentionally lead her to believe that he wanted to marry, and she flew to Korea solely on the condition that they would be married...heck, she's got a point. It'd be an extraordinary instance of douchebaggery.

@Samsooki...yes. ^_^

This doesn't change the fact that LBH is a great actor, but it does make me go "ewww" that he dates girls my age. My panties will remain intact! hahaha

ROFL wowwwowowowow!
good idea ms. kwon . if my future boyfriend ever leaves me, i'll be sure to sue him for about $86 000 ...
oh yes, and then i'll hire a bunch of guys to call in and threaten him for money.
yeah right.

this is pathetic. this shouldnt even have become such big news.

and even if i do give her the benefit of the doubt and say that this is all true, it's still a worthless lawsuit if you ask me. no law was broken. everybody gets their hearts broken from time to time, honey. its what you get for going out with a major celebrity thats like almost 20 years older than you.

Ho ho ho... now there's an early Christmas present for you, Byung-hun.

@ 67 jtinma

Yeah, this also reminded me of that episode from the Hero renzoku. Ahh, the human heart, what a tricky little thing you are...

@ 28, 35 Samsooki

Thanks for the legal insights. And that analogy--ROFL!

Uh-oh, I just hope there isn't any hard evidence floating around, like incriminating photos or a video. Eeewww.

What makes this case worthless is the accusation of blackmail, if LBH can prove this then these guys should say bye bye to their case.

sign of the times....sign of the times.....women nowadays are after money and fame any way they can get them.

"Lee had lured her into a sexual relationship with false promises of marriage"
It didn't say he forced her, so doesn't that mean she still choose to sleep with him? so why is she suing?

ya know, according to korean media reports, he met the girl while he was in canada filming "the good, the bad, the ugly". so the girl was ACTUALLY 19 YEARS OLD when he seduced her. which i guess is not considered a big deal over here in the states where you see all these precocious teenagers, but in korea that is considered pretty creepy. heck, i am all creeped out myself.

anyways, the girl is saying that he promised her all these things so she would go to korea and "live with him", but after 3 months of sex got sick of her and kicked her out to a cheap rented room/house that was 700 bucks (monthly rent?) or something... very different from what she said she was promised when she gave up her life in canada to come be with him.

the girl was just too young and naive, and she is now a woman scorned and mad. also IBH is a creepy douchebag. i had heard before that he liked "young girls" but i am still disappointed.

that all said, if you just look at the cold facts the girl has no basis to sue him. it was just a relationship gone wrong with another jerk, happens all the time. if he were not rich and famous she would not be suing him.

To be honest its not really the age factor that bothers me... Come guys there are plenty of women and men who date people older than them. This girl was obviously native and a dreamer to think that he would keep his promise.
What i mean by age factor is that at 19 I know plenty of young who are way more mature than their age and can very well meet the standrads of older people.
But the thing is you have to get to know someone for awhile in order to find out if they are sincere. This girl did not even bother to wait awhile to find out if he was being honest to her. After meeting him for a few days she just goes to korea to be with him. That was a very rash decision that she did not even bother to think through.
That said if LBH is going to date young girls he should atleast date ones that are mentality more mature. I hope he learned his lesson from this to chose wisely next time.

Ewwwwwwwww, first thought - DIRTY OLD MANNNNNNN!!!! Second thought - DIRTY OLD MANNNNNNNNNNNN!!!! Last thought - DIRTY OLD MANNNNNNNNN!!

@ 99.

ROFL! LBH=Dirty Old Man??!!! If LBH fans see this, you are going to get killed.

But don't worry, I'm not his fan. But 40 years old isn't that OLD, but to seduce and have sex with a girl 20 years younger than him..hmmm.

Just imagine you are a toddler, and the guy is already 20 years old.

EWWWWWWW.

the comments here are really entertaining! XD