Top Actress Opens Up About Being “Forced” To Publicly Address Her High-Profile Breakup On Air

On September 20, 2026 (KST), actress Kim Jung Eun appeared on Lee Hye Young’s YouTube channel, where the conversation turned to her past relationship with actor Lee Seo Jin and the intense media attention surrounding their split.

Lee Hye Young first brought up Kim Jung Eun’s Chocolate, the SBS music program Kim Jung Eun was hosting at the time. She recalled watching the actress speak about the breakup on-air and being struck by how openly she addressed such a painful moment.

But Kim Jung Eun revealed that speaking publicly was never something she had wanted to do.

I actually never wanted to mention it on air.

— Kim Jung Eun

According to the actress, however, the situation had reached a point where staying silent felt nearly impossible. “There were so many reporters waiting outside, and if I didn’t make some kind of statement, it would have become an even bigger headache,” she said.

Kim Jung Eun and Lee Seo Jin began dating after starring together in the 2006 SBS K-Drama, Lovers. Their relationship quickly became one of the industry’s most high-profile romances, with the pair openly showing affection during broadcasts and public appearances.

One especially memorable moment came in March 2008, when Lee Seo Jin appeared as a special guest during the first recording of Kim Jung Eun’s Chocolate. Despite his busy filming schedule for MBC K-Drama Yi San, the actor joined the show to support his then-girlfriend and performed Yim Jae Bum’s “Confession.” He explained that he chose the song because it had been featured in Lovers and was also one of Kim Jung Eun’s favorites. She was visibly moved during the performance and even shed tears.

Just months later, however, the relationship came to an end. Ahead of a November 2008 recording of Kim Jung Eun’s Chocolate, the actress confirmed to reporters that she and Lee Seo Jin had broken up on October 29. While acknowledging the split, she avoided revealing the exact reason behind it.

I tried to make it work, but I don’t really know why it ended up this way either…

— Kim Jung Eun

The breakup also appeared to take a heavy toll on Lee Seo Jin. He later revealed that he spent roughly two months staying out of the public eye in Hong Kong following the split. Reflecting on that period, he described it as one of the most difficult moments of his life, commenting, “Forget being in my late 30s. It was the biggest crisis of my entire life.”

Lee Hye Young also shared her own experience of returning to television after divorce, explaining that she had similarly felt pressure to address her personal life publicly so filming could move forward. For Kim Jung Eun, the conversation offered new context to a moment that many viewers had once seen as an unusually candid celebrity breakup confession.

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