Kim Hye-seong’s Father: Debt & Bankruptcy Explained

The father of Kim Hye-seong (LA Dodgers), who returned to Korea after winning the World Series in his first year of major league debut, expressed his position for the first time on a lawyer’s YouTube channel regarding the ‘debt investment’ controversy. He claimed, “Of the principal amount of 120 million won, I have repaid about 90 million won so far.” However, the truth of the claim could not be confirmed as no specific evidence or data was provided.

On the 12th, a 15-minute video titled ‘Kim Hye-seong’s father wants to tell the truth’ was uploaded to Attorney Lee Don-ho‘s YouTube channel. The video contains a phone call between Kim Hye-seong’s father and Lee lawyer. Attorney Lee said that after Kim Hye-sung’s airport interview controversy, when he posted a video on whether the son should repay Kim Hye-sung’s father’s debt, his father contacted him directly after seeing the video.

In a phone call with this lawyer, Kim Hye-seong’s father claimed, “I had a debt of about 120 million won due to a business bankruptcy 15 years ago, but I have repaid about 90 million won so far. Even though I have repaid most of the principal, the other party is demanding an excessive amount due to interest.” He said, “The first money I borrowed was for investment in club operation, and when the business went bankrupt, I suffered a loss of 3 billion won, but I have been repaying 100,000 won, 500,000 won, and 3 million won over the years.”

He added, “According to my calculation, there was about 30 million won in principal left, but the other party asked for 200 million won with interest, then 150 million won, and last August, 50 million won. They said the interest on the 120 million won became 80 million won and 100 million won. However, since I continued to repay, the principal amount decreased, and it is true that the interest also decreased accordingly.”

He said, “When Hye-seong went pro, from then on (creditors) started harassing her by putting up banners. They promised to give her money all at once by the end of December this year, but when Hye-seong returned to Korea, they hung up a banner at the airport. They didn’t even contact me.” He continued, “After going bankrupt, it was so difficult that I moved house six times, and Hyesung gave me the entire professional down payment of 135 million won and told me to ‘use it to pay off my dad’s debt.’”

He also said, “I have postponed filing for bankruptcy for 14 years and paid off my debts morally. As some creditors continued to make excessive demands, I ended up filing for bankruptcy. You can think of it as a temporary measure to avoid being harassed further.”

He said, “The reason I didn’t give money is the story between this person and I. If Hye-seong was interviewed for 8 years… (Kim Hye-seong), I can’t believe how hard it must have been since she was 20. Many people who harassed her held up placards at the airport again, and who wouldn’t be embarrassed and frowned upon?”

Attorney Lee Don-ho explained in the video, “If there was no legal interest rate agreement, any amount exceeding the 6% annual interest rate, which is the standard between merchants, could be considered repayment of the principal,” adding, “According to the father’s claim, it appears that most of the principal has been repaid.”

Previously, Kim Hye-sung drew attention when she stopped the interview during an interview at Incheon International Airport on the 6th when she returned to Korea, pointing to a person and saying, “If that person goes, I will do my best for the interview.” At the time, a person demanding repayment of Kim Hye-seong’s father’s debt appeared holding a banner with phrases such as ‘Some X went to the LA Dodgers, and Abby

The person Kim Hye-seong is referring to is a man who demands repayment of Kim Hye-seong’s father’s debt. This man is called ‘Mr. Gocheok Kim’ among baseball fans as he has put up banners with similar content several times in the past.