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Lee Byung-heon targeted for blackmail

Get ready for what will surely become another entertainment industry rollercoaster of scandalous claims: Lee Byung-heon, megastar and current lead in KBS drama IRIS, has been accused by a Korean-Canadian woman of sexual misconduct and slapped with a lawsuit. Lee refutes the claims and is fighting back.

According to Lee’s management company, BH Entertainment, the star had been the target of “severely slanderous” phone calls beginning in November from an undisclosed group of men, who blackmailed Lee with threats to “expose him to a scandal” if he did not pay them several billions of won. On December 8, a lawsuit was filed with the Seoul District Court by a 22-year-old Canadian gyopo (a Ms. Kwon), who charged that Lee had lured her into a sexual relationship with false promises of marriage. As a result of the mental and physical harm she suffered, she demanded compensation for damages. The amount is for 100 million won, or roughly $86,000 USD.

The woman in question had been a student studying rhythmic gymnastics at York University in Canada before meeting Lee in September 2008, and was a Canadian national athlete. He had been in Toronto to promote his movie The Good, The Bad, The Weird when they met through a friend’s introduction. The president of a company that sponsored Lee told her that she could continue to study and practice gymnastics in Korea and asked her to move to be with Lee. Lee approved the idea, and she left Canada. However, she says that Lee’s behavior changed after her arrival in Korea, and he grew indifferent. He set her up in a home in Seoul but left her to be alone most of the time. She emphasized, “I believe that as a famous star, he used his celebrity and financial power to merely toy with me then abandon me.”

A BH Entertainment representative explained, “Lee Byung-heon did have a girlfriend whom he met last autumn and broke up with this spring, but the abovementioned men threatened to create falsehoods about him and the ex-girlfriend while demanding money. However, when Lee Byung-heon refused to comply, they presented the woman as plaintiff in a civil suit.” The threats demanded 2 billion won (approx $1.7 million) and the men are said to be connected to Ms. Kwon, although their exact relationship was not disclosed. The rep explained that as Lee’s side had done nothing wrong, they had requested an investigation into the threats. They will counter through legal channels with their own lawsuit for defamation of character.

Via Segye, BNT News

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Wow. My friends were just telling me about this earlier.

Funny how in American you can't sue for that kind of stuff.

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What's with all these accusations on IRIS and its cast nowadays?

And why do I feel like she was inspired by the 9 ladies circulating Tiger Woods right now.

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First, I have to say - wow, that is one damned hot picture of him!

Can you really sue someone for being dumped? She is 22, but acts like she's is 16. It's not like he married her, and he gave her $10,000 for her troubles - I'd say, take it, girl and go back to Canada and continue your studies! The fact that she had him blackmailed speaks volumes.

I can totally picture him with a Rhythmic gymnast though. ^_^

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So, basically if the boyfriend abandoned you, you can sue him for 'the mental and physical harm you suffered' ?

Wow. And that kind of harm worth 100 million Won? Wow.

I know, read in few articles, about the rumor that Lee Byung Hun is a playboy. But I don't think with his current 'position' and fame, he could do something that harm his reputation.
But you never know what's inside someone's heart, right?

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LOL!! In America, an american judge would throw this case out before it even hits the court room door, wait, check that, before her laywers even enter the parking lot.

her lawyers would say to the girl, "now now young lady, we can skip the bs, why only $86.000? don't you know he's worth more? how much do you think i should get for from that 86k? hmm? was the break up that bad? YOU'RE WASTING MY TIME, GET OUT!!"

END OF THE STORY!!

seriously, a 22 year old, that can't handle a break up? needs to get her head check.

But I feel this is more than just her, but the "undisclosed group of men" are very fishy people. BH Entertainment lawyers should find out who they are first before dealing with the girl, she was probably being pressured, forced and used by these group of men against her will.

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That will make LBH think twice abt having premarital sex with any women around aka Tiger Woods scandals, and probably live his life as a monk instead. lol

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hmmm lee byoung heon like really young woman right?? from song hye Gyo until that 22 years old girl??

wow from 82's to 87's born girl..

i suggest LBH to get married soon!!.. i feel bad with him

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bullshit. this woman has no shame. a total golddigger. I hope she will have to pay compensation for defaming LBH.

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@ 5 Life is not Fair

"But I feel this is more than just her, but the “undisclosed group of men” are very fishy people. BH Entertainment lawyers should find out who they are first before dealing with the girl, she was probably being pressured, forced and used by these group of men against her will."

===

Ditto to the statement above.... if this happens she could be in real danger...

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her case would be more convincing if she didn't get some shady men to blackmail LBH in the first place.

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Wait....what?

You can sue someone for being a shitty boyfriend??

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Are you serious? You can sue someone for breaking up with you?

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She got dumped. That's it. Unless he held a gun to her head and forced her to have sex with him, then I'd say he's well within his rights to get bored and dump her ass. If this is her reaction to losing a guy I can only imagine how she behaved within the relationship. You can't sue someone just because they exited the relationship! Cry, scream, wish them harm, yes; sue them, no. Plus following someone to another country is a huge risk in my opinion and while I applaud her clearly adventurous spirit, I'd say don't leave your country for a man who hasn't put a ring on your finger after saying (before a denomination of your choice), "I do."

LBH is a good-looking guy so I can believe him to be a tomcat, and as long as his tomcatting doesn't involve girls below the legal age of consent, I say tomcat away. I hope he and his team of high-priced lawyers get her but good in court.

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This is messy. I hope she's not blackmailed into blackmailing LBH as well.

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A groupie taking advantage of a silly law to get attention and money. Just think if that was an option in America?!

Kim Dong Wan's recent blog entry really fits this....

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seriously ppl consider this a scandal? man dumping a woman? Sure if it's true, LBH is a jerk, but this is his private matter that has nothing do with, well, at least me. The blackmail thing is way more too serious though. I hope the police works it out soon.

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I think she is just doing that to defame Lee Byung Heon.

Well girl, you sort of succeeded in doing that. But LBH is too famous already, I don't think it will affect him that much.

Good luck to LBH, and IRIS lol.

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He didn't even ask her to move in with him... it was some other person. Way to fail. But i'm pretty sure this could be illegal in America as well... I don't really remember the criminal justice class I took, but i'm pretty sure that leading someone to do something with promises of marriage when you actually had no intention of marrying them is illegal. And the fact that she is an athlete, compounds the problem.

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False promises of marriage? What is this,19th century? I didn't know you could still sue for that sort of thing once the Victorian era ended.

It made sense back then because women couldn't earn a living other than by marriage so if someone wasted your time this way, you lost perhaps your only opportunity to make a living (via someone else) but this...ahahahahahaha!

Quote: "he used his celebrity and financial power to merely toy with me then abandon me." Girl, if this is true, all that means he is a jerk with a short-attention span. Sometimes relationships don't work out and/or sometimes the other party in it doesn't behave well.

If one could sue a guy for being a jerk, I think the courts would never get anything else done. :D Grow up, lady. Seriously.

*goes off and tries to locate the highschool bf who dumped me so she could sue him*

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VEERRYY fishy indeed. It'll be interesting to see how all this pans out.

Wow, tonite's rating might hit the roof.

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I think she's being used by those shady figures... I mean, if they broke up in spring, she could've just left Korea and returned to Canada... Of course, if she was broke and had staked her entire life on that relationship, and couldn't afford a return trip... but I guess that in that case, there would've been a 'non-public' solution, too.
Even the statement of the management poits towards this not being the idea of the lady...

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To us all this seems beyond stupid but I'm thinking there's dirtier dealings going on here; would the shady mens really pay for lawyers to put a lawsuit forward if they didn't have something damning? *waits for the sextapes to emerge* Korea takes these things more seriously so I really hope this doesn't screw up the career of a talented actor, AGAIN. It's probably the threat of scandal/killing his career more than the lawsuit, but then again he didn't give in to the blackmail so good for him.

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This girl probably had her daily dose of E!NEWS and saw the Tiger Woods scandal and decided.........hmmmmm

"Maybe I should follow in the footsteps of Tiger's GIRLSSSSS. But instead of just spilling everything to the press, I shall go one step higher and file a LAWSUIT. Smart, right?? WOOHOOOO~!"

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You know what? My advice to LBH is don't play with fire, especially young, immature girls. Also, women tend to throw themselves to guys who they think have many "C". So, the advice is to keep a simple life and play dumb, especially when they ask you out. Also, don't hang out too much with married couple because they will start doing match-making on your behalf. That's sickening!! I guess, the safest way of not being called a gay or something else, just said I plan to become a Monk, that will put off all the ladies that have an interest in you, then you can take the time slowly to get to know each and everyone of them!! ^__________^ When you finally met a right one, then you can always said that you have love her so much and abondon the idea of becoming a Monk!!

BTW, if you want to learn more about girls or women, visit Dramabeans or Soompi!!

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I hope LBH goes after these people with all the money in the world for defamation of character because considering what I gather his K-fans to be like (mostly women, mostly middle-aged--it seems), they are not going to be pleased to hear about LBH's dalliances with young (really young) women. He will proabably lose some fans over this. Which is sad because he has a right to lead his life anyway he wishes and if young women is where it's at for him, so be it. Also, if he doesn't want to marry and just wants fool around, fine -- that's his choice. But the problem is that his fans will not be so understanding.
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Okay if this is true than LBH is not that nice of guy lol but honestly, I don't understand how this is grounds for a lawsuit. What laws did LBH break? He wasn't married to this woman, she didn't work for him or have any conflicts of interest there. All it sounds like to me is a girlfriend being harshly dumped by a boyfriend. Sure, it might be wrong, but causing someone to feel bad isn't really enough for a lawsuit to be filed. Maybe the laws are different in Korea though?? Gosh, that would suck if every time someone has a personal problem with a boyfriend/girlfriend they could file a lawsuit about it!

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This hits close to home because she goes to the same university I attend in Toronto. -__- Seriously though, our school is known for the amount of pretty ladies who make an effort to look good even when they're attending morning classes. I'm just saying.

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Okay so we have a few interesting notes here.

1. Korean law is different from other countries, and it is completely based on statute. The alleged victim in this case would not have been able to sue without a claim that, if proven true, would be able to be rectified under Korean law.

2. HOWEVER, a few weeks ago, the highest court in Korea did overturn that a criminal statute that made it a crime for (only) a man to lure a woman into sexual relations through a false promise of marriage. Not because its a stupid statute, mind you, but because only a man could be charged with this crime. ICOMYM club members would be completely free to lure younger men, free of worries of being charged with a crime. How unfair, and last month, the Korean supreme court agreed. (but before Americans snicker at the fact that this law even existed in the first place in this day and age, there are states in the US which still have this law on the books as well).

3. ON THE OTHER HAND, while it may not be a crime, it still is a breach of contract if the allegations are proven true.

Breach of contract is not a crime, but it is something that you can sue over. I promise to mow your law. In reliance of that promise, you bake me cookies. I eat your cookies, and then I don't mow your lawn. Okay, given the overtly sexual connotations of that analogy, let me jus stop right there. You get the picture.

Marriage after all, despite all dreamy aspects and montages and OST soundtrack ballads claiming otherwise, is really just a legal relationship based on contract. You can't get someone to do something, something that that person does in reliance of your actions, without incurring a responsibility at the same time.

This isn't about a silly girl saying that she was dumped and so she is suing. She is saying that she was promised something and in reliance of that promise, she "baked cookies." Those cookies have worth, and so there are consequences to eating cookies without mowing lawns.

****

So, then, on the flip side, let me add that it is possible that the woman in this case is actually just trying to get money out of a relationship that ended on a sour note, with her unrealistic dreams of being Mrs. LBH dashed.

In that case, if the facts turn out that she was in fact just an unrealistic and naive woman who wants something more than a few pics for facebook to prove she dated LBH, then fine, this suit looks a lot like blackmail.

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...

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what kind of Law is this? So lets say you proposed to someone, but after which you can be sued if you decide not to get married? For gods sakes, the world isn't full of rainbows and lollipops, guys like sex, some girls think it equals to them wanting to them marrying them but it isn't. Why isn't he allowed to change his mind, even if he proposed to her isn't he allowed to change a decision that in hindsight he thinks is bad?

He tried and the relationship didn't work out. Get over it and move on, and the fact that she tried to black mail him before should just automatically have the case thrown out and them charged with blackmail.

Break ups can be seriously ugly, but this is just childish.

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if she really wants to be with THE MAN, and since they had sexual relationship, she should have thought of getting pregnant :D At least, even if LBH dumped her, she is carrying his child. wahehehehehe

i am being nonsense :P

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uhhhhhhh,,,dang, what kind of law is that??? It makes women look soo desperate dragging their man down with them if the man doesn't want to marry her.... This girl needs to get a life. She should feel stupid for even airing this to the whole world. If a man doesn't want you, move on with your life...plain and simple.... geesh!!!! Noone died girl........ "get your gold diggin ass back to Canada where you belong and quit ruining someone's life........"

This girl is going to be gettin a lot of hate letters, threats asap from netizans, LBH fans...etc..... she better be prepare......

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Those men that are blackmailing him need to find themselves a job. GET A LIFE BOYS.....

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@ samsookie - I'm now reconsidering baking cookies today......

>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.

Actually, it sounds like both sets of facts could be true at the same time. Meet, go to Korea (and what's with the manager setting that one up?), get set up in house (and whose mama thought THAT was a good idea?), get lonely in new country, get dumped, get upset.

or meet, bring to Korea, set her up in house and support her some, dump her, move on.

To quote the great philosopher Beyoncé - if you liked it, you should have put a ring on it......

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Okay, let me get this story straight - LBH came to promote a movie here in Canada, meet someone who became his girlfriend, asked her to move back to Korea so that they can continue the relationship, but after some time LBH realized that their relationship wasn't going anywhere and decided to break things off with her. If that's the story, why a lawsuit? And why only for 100 million won? If she was really studying here in Canada, she would know that even if she was thrifty that money would only last her 2-3 years at best. Sheesh woman! No wonder LBH broke up with you.

LBH, I'm sure has commanded a set of great lawyers to help him out. I also hope the news about him and IRIS these days are not just for publicity stunts though.

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@29 Dopey -

what kind of Law is this? So lets say you proposed to someone, but after which you can be sued if you decide not to get married?

I don't know the specifics of the statutory law in korea, but I'll analogize with US law, since I am more familiar with the latter.

really quickly - law of contracts. There are a lot of different kinds of obligations that are created under contract law. many of these obligations, in turn, have legal consequences if not fulfilled. with me so far? i.e., you lease a car. you fail to make the lease payments. consequence? in the contract itself, there is a clause that says that the car company gets its car back and you still owe the lease payments.

sometimes, there is no formal contract, nothing written down or negotiated out. does that mean that there is necessarily no obligation created? sometimes, there is. i.e., you tell a bakery to bake you a big cake and you'll pick it up on Friday. Friday rolls around and you don't want cake anymore. consequence? you still have to pay for the cake because, in reasonable reliance of your order, the bakery used up time, effort and materials to bake the cake.

obviously, there is a lot more to it (about a thousand cases to read, with varying fact patterns), but the above is basically two semesters worth of contracts law in law school.

The point is that if you make promises to another person, and that person acts in reliance of those promises, then you may have created legal obligations to yourself, which, if not fulfilled, create consequences. those consequences, in legal parlance, are called "damages."

It is possible to have damages even if you don't have a contract, even if the person relying on the promise is naive, even if the promise itself is not very substantial.

The reason why the law (at least in the US) developed like this is because when people interact with one another, there needs to be a framework whereby people are held responsible for their actions and their words. This is called a society, and we all benefit from that framework.

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@ samsooki - thanks for clarifying Korean law. I think we often forget that international laws are quite different from American laws.

"ICOMYM club members would be completely free to lure younger men, free of worries of being charged with a crime. How unfair..."

this, however, is superb. great to know when i go to korea in a few weeks that i may have my way with my manrem :P

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This is what I called the biggest scandal of the year! Interesting..will follow the story.

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LOL - I'm with most people on this and say WTF you can sue for breaking up with someone?

Who give's a damnz if he promised to marry you - LOL - it's called a break-up. Let it go lady. Also, she probably followed him, not him follow you. I've seen those dramas. She's crazy!

if a girl or guy was sued for every promised they made to marry each other there would be a shitload of people in jail by now and/or very broke. lol.

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I fully agree that this is just the tip of the iceberg and we need to curb the apparent bloodlust for the girl at the moment... just because we all love LBH and of course, the man can do no wrong.

Interesting to know how this pans out. I'm indifferent either way. However, I do agree with the concept of verbal contract and if he did promise marriage then despite the outcry on this, damages is deserved.

I fear this may be ugly and drawn out... I can pretty much expect an out of court settlement if LBH is in the wrong and a fight to the death if he is not. Maybe this eventuality, although not giving us so much detail of the case, gives us an inkling of what actually happened.

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Wow, I was just reading the John Stamos story about extortion/blackmail. I guess no star is safe...

but, there could be many scenarios...my first thought was, should playboys be punished? it sounds like LBH was probably playing around off Korea territory and then when he got home, had to stay clear of any sorts of relationship, as it seems Korean actors/actresses need to be single to reach fame and maintain their fanbases...She was probably used, maybe of her own naivety, and like they say, "there is no fury like a woman scorned"....

on the other hand I feel that she is going after the wrong person/people... she really should be suing the person of the company who was sponsoring Lee and told her to move to Korea to be with Lee. How can Lee turn down someone a sponsor is supporting? He probably felt obliged at the time, knowing he could "dump" her easily thanks to his fame and fortune. So yes, he was at fault for playing around, she was somehow misled and is now in Korea with no other support but for the men who approached her/are linked to her...

it's like they were both used in a way, by the sponsor company who maybe wanted to create something by inviting her to Korea? but it didn't turn out, and then now somebody has to be a scapegoat for their misdeed...of course, LBH is probably safe, so I do feel bad for the woman involved...she's probably wishing she'd never met and got involved with LBH in the first place, but, that too is what happens when you play with fire....

I was trying to think ....hmm....if JGS had a relationship with me while he was in the U.S., someone asked me to go back to Korea to continue my studies to be close to him (which doesn't mean I would be living with him), would I do it? would I know what I might possibly get into? Would I expect marriage or to be dumped down the line? Would I regret it??? would this be a dream scenario for me even if it ended badly??? Ah, but this is no dream or kdrama....a little person like me and big star like him? If the chance ever ever ever came, what would I do?
and I hope this never happens to JGS :-) sorry to bring his name up here, i was trying to put things into perspective...he is of course, an anjell!

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"Baking cookies" or "mowing the lawn" are exchanges, they are not love in true sense. True love is unconditional and allow the other party the freedom to do what he/she wants. In exchange, you have respect, trust and even much closer relationship.

Falling in love or falling out of love is not love in true sense either. It is called infactuation. A few years after marriage, when the infactuation or chemical effects are getting lesser and lesser, that's where you see a Tiger being chased by a Tigress with a golf club!!

I guess, we all are so buy into fairytale type of happily ever after kind of story, but those also not true love. True love withstands time and should get even stronger over time. The fact is if you do not owe anyone in your past lifes, you would get married. So, you can extend true love to everyone...

In short, true love is be very gentle, loving and caring with oneself, and extend it to others...am I talking like a Monk? ^___________^ Hahaha....

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It seems like he met this girl, they liked each other, they got into a relationship which must have been pretty serious since she moved to Korea and then things didn't work out. He must have been pretty serious to have her move to Korea. So I don't think he was playing around. It just probably didn't work out.
LBH shouldn't date girls under 25 so they don't have melt downs like that. It makes me queasy when men date girls young enough to be their daughters. Says something about how evolved they are.
I didn't know he was into young girls. It makes me not like him anymore.
Who knows what really happened so I shouldn't judge him.
Tiger Woods should never have gotten married. I must say he has very bad taste in women. it's like that part of him never left high school.

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Please... I moved to San Francisco to start a new life with my boyfriend when I was 22 and when I got there he seemed changed and indifferent. He's on Facebook, maybe I should contact him and sue for breech of contract or misrepresentation.

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I only have one question. Isn't 22 a little long in the tooth for a gymnast? Aren't most of them between 12 &14 years old? (maybe 16)Okay that was two questions
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You know, I seriously hate how people come about and mess up a another person's life. Because that is exactly what she is doing, just messing with his life. Couldn't she try and settle things privately? The fact that he's a celebrity makes this even messier.

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BTW, I have a strong inclination that LBH used the girl as a pillow dictionary to practice his English. Now, we all know, that's his way of mastering a language. Good on him, but with a heavy price tag of US$86,000++!! ^_______^"

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someone tell this gurlll that it's a privilege to be in LBH's harem. tell her to calm down. that's called a RELATIONSHIP, it's not being "lured" into something sinister. It's called a relationship. You either win some or lose some. There are baggages. There are prince charmings. There are douchebags. And it is YOUR choice. So accept that you got dumped and thank LBH for his beautiful, great service.

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I don't care whether it's legal or not but LBH should know better not to date so much younger woman. Heck..he's an old man what possibly they would have in common beside SEX. He has a tendency to date younger women, what makes you think he hasn't dated say..an 18 or 19 year old girl? If he is serious about planning a family, do you think he would go for a 22 year old? Of course not.

I can't help but feel disappointed and repulsed by LBH. I can understand that man at his age feels lonely and needs companion, but a 22 year old girl?? I see no reason for him to be with her except just to fulfill his sexual fantasy.

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... ok, so fangirls think this is "disappointing" and "ridiculous". That their picture perfect vision of LBH romancing the ladies with just flowers and candy does not match these allegations. that *shock* he sleeps with women? ORLY?

sure, the guy may be a douchebag or a nightmare boyfriend or just shallow with lust.

Does this merit a civil case? Hell to the no.

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That's why this girl uses Korean Law system, NOT Canadian.

And Go through all the sh!t for just $68,000. I don't know how big that money in Korean but as someone said above. In Canada, it lasts her 2 - 3 years at best. And what ? That money is what LBH makes in one episode of IRIS or sth like that. I don't think money is the issue here.

This reason alone is absurd. There should be sth else behind. She should sue the company who made her move in Korea instead. Why would his company involve with his private affair ?

But If she's just bitter about being dumb, then this is just stupid. LBH seriously should stay away from immature young girl.

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