Jung Dae-se, a former North Korea men's national team forward who also played in the K League, has shocked the public by admitting he owes more than 4.58 billion won. In particular, it emerged that even his wife had no idea about it.
According to Japan's Sports Hochi and other foreign media on the 29th, Jung appeared on a Fuji TV-affiliated variety show the day before and spoke candidly about his liability situation that has continued since the past. He said he once had debts exceeding 300 million yen (about 2.75 billion won).
Asked how he would use the show's 1 million yen (about 9.17 million won) winner's prize, Jung answered without hesitation, "I will use it to repay my debt."
He said he had reduced his debt to 250 million yen (about 2.3 billion won) through his activities so far, but during a recent process of organizing his assets, "an additional 250 million yen subject to payment obligation was found, bringing my total debt to 500 million yen (about 4.58 billion won)."
Even more surprising, his wife, Cho Seo-hyun, did not know the size of her husband's massive liability. Appearing on the broadcast with him, his wife said she "didn't even properly know that my husband had debt, and I learned the exact amount for the first time today through the TV broadcast," unable to hide her bewilderment.
Born in Nagoya, Japan, Jung was born to a father with Korean nationality and a mother who maintained Chosun nationality. He drew worldwide attention as a forward for North Korea at the 2010 South Africa World Cup and went on to play for Japan's Kawasaki Frontale and Germany's 2. Bundesliga, among others.
In Korea, he played for K League club Suwon Samsung for two and a half years. Retiring as a player in 2023, he is currently active on television, traveling between Japan and Korea.