Here’s how the main couple of “Empress Ki” is doing after a decade since the drama’s release.
Joo Jin Mo
On the afternoon of Sep 7th, family medicine specialist Min Hye-yeon, Joo Jin-mo‘s wife, posted 2 photos on Instagram with the caption “My husband’s birthday dinner yesterday ♡♡♡ Paul is looking at yuk-sashimi (thinly sliced raw beef), and… My husband is cutting beef to feed Paul! LOL”.
The photo showed Joo Jin-mo and his dog sitting side by side in front of the restaurant table and focusing on yuk-sashimi. In the photo, Joo Jin-mo was wearing a casual outfit, but he still boasted his unchanging sculpture-like appearance. However, he seemed to lose some weight and become emaciated.
Previously, Joo Jin-mo was embroiled in a smartphone hacking incident in January 2016, and was embroiled in a privacy controversy in which a messenger conversation he had with an acquaintance was leaked.
At that time, Joo Jin-mo’s agency said that criminal hackers threatened him, adding, “He bows his head to the women who were mentioned in his text messages and asks for forgiveness. He didn’t commit the immoral act of secretly taking photos of women’s bodies and spreading them.” Afterwards, Joo Jin-mo filed a criminal complaint against the subject of hacking and blackmail through his legal representative, and the hackers were sentenced to prison.
Meanwhile, Joo Jin-mo married Min Hye-yeon, a family medicine specialist from Seoul National University College of Medicine who is 10 years younger than him, in 2019.
Ha Ji Won
Known for both her beauty and talent, Ha Ji Won has maintained her position as one of the top Korean actresses for the last two decades. Before Empress Ki, Ha Ji Won starred in many other successful productions of different genres, most notably the romantic drama Secret Garden, where she co-stars Hyun Bin.
Ha Ji Won is still a sought-after star by directors and producers to this day. However, she has been taking a break from acting since her role in the 2020 family film Pawn. In 2021, Ha Ji Won made her debut as a painter. However, her abstract artworks received mixed reactions from the Korean public, who claim they look like they were drawn by a child.
