Pop music pioneer, actress undergoing nasty divorce

Pop music pioneer, actress undergoing nasty divorce. April. 22, 2011 00:21. ryu@donga.com kej09@donga.com.

Fans of Korean pop music pioneer Seo Tai-ji are reeling after news reports released Thursday that the singer has lived with actress Lee Ji-ah and that the two have filed for a lawsuit.

According to the Seoul Family Court Thursday, Lee filed a lawsuit against Seo on Jan. 19 demanding 500 million won (463,000 U.S. dollars) in compensation and division of wealth. The two argued their cases in court on March 14 and Monday, and the date of the third trial is May 23.

A source at the court said only their legal representatives attended the arguments.

In an unprecedented move for a domestic relations suit, both Lee and Seo formed large-scale defense teams, with Lee employing four attorneys and Seo three.

Lee did not file a divorce suit against Seo at the same time, however. The source said, “This is because either they are in a common-law marriage or have already divorced,” adding, “Even if they are informally married, either party can demand compensation and division of wealth.”

Lee made her entertainment debut as the heroine of the MBC historical drama “The Legend” that aired in 2007. Among milestones in her successful career was winning Best New TV Actress at the Baeksang Arts Awards in 2008 for her role in the MBC drama “Beethoven Virus.”

She is called a “mysterious actress,” however, given little information on her background. The only public information about her is that she lived in the U.S. for about 10 years and returned to Korea after graduating from an American college.