E Ji-ah drops suit against Seo Taiji

Seo Taiji (lef) and E Ji-ah [Seotaiji Company / KEYEAST]

Actress E Ji-ah has dropped a suit asking for alimony and division of assets from her former husband, rocker Seo Taiji.

Barun Law, E's legal representative, said Saturday that the actress withdrew the lawsuit "upon judging it would be difficult to continue with the case with herself, her family, and people around her suffering from extreme psychological pain."

E had prompted a suit in January which demanded 500 million won in alimony and a five billion won share of assets from Seo whom she divorced in 2006 but with nobody having been aware of neither their marriage nor divorce until late last month, Korea's cyberspace became swamped with speculation and rumor surrounding the ex-couple and particularly E.

The same day, through a press release issued by his agency Seotaiji Company, Seo for the first time spoke about his relationship with E.

While admitting that two married in late 1997, Seo said they separated in 2000 and their divorce went into effect in 2006 despite their efforts to mend their differences. All regarding their divorce had "concluded smoothly" at the time so the recent suit was "unexpected," Seo said.

This contradicts E's earlier claim that the two divorced in 2009 after filing for it in 2006, although papers too have shown that they officially split in 2006 and that E had also waived her rights for spousal support from the singer.

Separately, Seo wrote a message on his official website, apologizing to his fans and asking for their understanding for keeping his such past a secret.

"After retiring in 1996, I wished to go back to being Jeong Hyeon-chul (Seo's real name) and live not as singer Seo Taiji but as an ordinary person who marries and has kids. So I wanted to protect my hard-gained home and regular life I was enjoying for the first time," Seo said.

Seo, Korea's cultural icon from the '90s, had kept his private life in close wraps after heading to the U.S. after his retirement as a member of boy band Seotaiji & Boys.

However, he ended his relationship with E in 2000 after which he returned to Korea and resumed his singing career. "After that, I couldn't tell the public about someone who I have already split and gone separate ways with so everything became a secret I had to keep to myself," Seo explained.

After Seo's message, E too addressed the issue directly through a posting on her official website on Sunday.

E said she had "lived a life that is not understandable " because she "respected and conformed" to Seo's wishes to not reveal his life to anyone. "I thought that was what love was about so I deserted my parents as well as myself."

"We ended everything in 2006 without proper discussion because I wanted to relieve myself of my pain as soon as possible and I believed that was the way we would leave things on a good note. But reality was different," E wrote.

"My pain only deepened over time, becoming incurable...... This is where I ended up because I wanted to be understood for the many dark years I spent and because I wanted to find my true self," E said of the reason for pushing for legal action.

"But I did not know we would be at such odds with each other...... And I have come to think it has become meaningless because our dispute has come to be only about tarnishing the other's reputation. I do not want to sacrifice my past or future life for it, nor hurt everybody around me so I have dropped the suit," E explained.

However, several questions remain to the scandal including why the actress filed the lawsuit despite the toll it could take on her current life -- she has maintained a good reputation during her four-year acting career and recently made headlines after admitting to dating top Korean actor Jung Woo-sung, her co-star of TV series "Athena."

Jung is said to have been unaware of E and Seo's relationship while being "extremely confused and taken aback" but has yet to state his stance on the matter officially.

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Jessica Kim jesskim@