The parents of model Lee Ji-yeon contended actor Lee Byung-hun’s claim that the model blackmailed him to make a quick fortune.

Lee Byung-hun enters the court building in Seoul. (OSEN)

In an interview with a local women’s magazine, Lee’s mother alleged that her 25-year-old daughter was not a gold digger but a young adult who committed a wrongdoing.

“(Lee Byung-hun) said Ji-yeon committed a crime because of her financial difficulties, and I was dumbstruck at such a ridiculous claim,” the distressed mother said.

“We may not be the richest people on earth, but are wealthy enough to live in affluence. We send Ji-yeon enough monthly living expenses. We believe that (Lee Byung-hun) alleged that my husband is suffering from cancer, but the truth is, he was diagnosed with gastric cancer at an early stage, and underwent an operation. But we were not under any sort of financial difficulties to make Ji-yeon concerned.”

Actor Lee Byung-hun and model Lee Ji-yeon.

The model’s uncle also stepped up to speak out for Ji-yeon.

He said, “My brother-in-law (Ji-yeon’s father) is more than affluent. He owns two retail buildings and a huge orchard. These are established facts because I directly helped him purchase these assets as his realtor.”

Lee’s family also refuted Lee Byung-hun’s claim that Ji-yeon tried to flee overseas to avoid arrest.

“Ji-yeon and we travel in foreign countries every year. We went to Turkey last year, and we talked about going to Europe this year,” they said.

“That is why Ji-yeon was browsing flight schedules. If she really meant to flee, she would have sought tickets for China or Southeast Asia, where the police would have more trouble searching for her.”

The interview came after actor Lee sought prosecution of Lee Ji-yeon and 21-year-old girl group GLAM member Kim Dae-hee of blackmailing him for 5 billion won ($4.7 million) with video footage that the women secretly took of him.

Ji-yeon’s mother criticized Lee Byung-hun’s handling of the blackmailing case.

“We regret that (Lee) reported to police right away, without giving even a moment of thought about scolding Dae-hee and Ji-yeon when they asked for money,” she said, emphasizing that the defendants are still of the immature age.

“They (Lee Byung-hun, Lee Ji-yeon and Dahee) were not perfect strangers. They met several times. Shouldn’t he try to persuade them a couple time, at least?”

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)