Seo Jung-jin to Finally Register Two Illegitimate Daughters on Family Register... Court Recognizes Parentage

Two Daughters Added as 'Legal Children' After Paternity Lawsuit
Two Companies Owned by Biological Mother Integrated into Celltrion Affiliates
Biological Mother "10 Years of Suffering" vs Chairman Seo "Large Financial Demand"

It has been revealed that Seo Jung-jin, Honorary Chairman of the Celltrion Group, has two illegitimate children. Recently, the court added the two daughters as Seo's 'legal children,' and two companies owned by their biological mother were incorporated into Celltrion affiliates.

According to KBS on the 2nd, the Seongnam Branch of the Seoul Family Court ruled on June 22 of last year that Seo must acknowledge his two daughters in their 20s and teens as his biological children. This was the result of a mediation settlement in a paternity lawsuit filed by the two daughters.

Seo Jung-jin, Honorary Chairman of Celltrion Group. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Following the court's ruling, Seo's family register now includes the two daughters in addition to his existing two sons. Seo's second generation includes his eldest son Seo Jin-seok, chairman of the boards of Celltrion and Celltrion Pharm, and his second son Seo Jun-seok, chairman of the board of Celltrion Healthcare.

Additionally, the companies where the daughters' biological mother, Ms. A, serves as CEO are reported to have been included as Celltrion affiliates. According to the Fair Trade Commission's announcement on changes in affiliates of publicly disclosed business groups this year, two companies were newly designated as Celltrion Group affiliates.

At the time, Celltrion stated that these were "companies operated by Seo's relatives," and with the daughters being legally recognized as children last year, these companies appear to have been classified as relative-owned companies.

Ms. A, the biological mother of the two daughters, told KBS that she first met Seo in July 2001 while he was married and that they had a de facto marital relationship resulting in children. She said their relationship, which lasted over ten years, ended in 2012 when Seo's side, facing difficulties in company management, urged her to leave the country.

Ms. A said, "Because the existence of the children could cause the company to collapse if revealed, I was told to keep quiet for the time being," expressing that Seo did not act as a father to the daughters.

In particular, the second daughter has not seen Seo even once in 11 years and reportedly filed a visitation rights lawsuit at the Seongnam Branch of the Seoul Family Court, requesting to meet Seo four times a month.

Regarding the reason for the legal battle, Ms. A said, "The pain over the past 10 years has made it difficult to live daily life," and added, "Just thinking about the wounds and suffering the children endured makes it hard to breathe."

Seo's side countered that he tried to take care of the children, but Ms. A was unfaithful, which ultimately led to the breakdown of the relationship, and despite paying 28.8 billion won in child support, she continued to demand large sums.

While feeling a moral responsibility for the extramarital relationship, Seo's side also stated that they filed a complaint today at the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul against Ms. A for charges including extortion and defamation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.