Koo Jun-yeob of the group Clon has not yet renounced his right to inherit the estate of his wife, the late Seo Hee-won, according to local media.
Taiwanese outlet Sanli News Network said on the 13th that Koo Jun-yeob has not given up Seo Hee-won's inheritance and is working to obtain the share of the estate that should go to the children.
The outlet also raised a claim that differs from earlier reports that Koo Jun-yeob voluntarily relinquished the inheritance rights to the luxury dwellings where Seo Hee-won lived during her lifetime. It said Koo did not give up the real estate on his own initiative but did so at the request of Seo Hee-won's family.
The outlet reported, "Seo Hee-won's mother recently told Koo Jun-yeob to sign a document renouncing the inheritance."
However, the outlet noted that a mediation process attended by representatives of Koo Jun-yeob and Seo Hee-won's bereaved family is scheduled to begin next week, suggesting the legal procedures related to waiving the inheritance may not yet be complete.
The outlet said, "Next week, mediation will begin with the lead attorneys for both sides in attendance. This suggests that Koo Jun-yeob has not completed the process of renouncing the inheritance." It added, "In the industry, there are rumors that Koo Jun-yeob will assert his rights and interests, but Koo's side has not stated a position on this."
Koo Jun-yeob and Seo Hee-won dated in 1998 but broke up. Seo Hee-won married Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei in 2011, had two children, and divorced in 2021.
After hearing of Seo Hee-won's divorce, Koo Jun-yeob reached out again, and the two reunited and married in 2022. Seo Hee-won died of acute pneumonia while traveling in Japan in Feb. last year.
After Seo Hee-won's death, there were a series of reports locally about the size of the estate and how it would be inherited. Local media estimated that Seo Hee-won left assets totaling 119.7 billion won, including a penthouse worth about 16 billion won.
Under local inheritance rules, Seo Hee-won's estate is known to be inherited in equal thirds by her spouse, Koo Jun-yeob, and the two children. After Seo Hee-won's death, Koo issued a statement saying he would pass his share of the inheritance to the children.
Seo Hee-won's former husband, Wang Xiaofei, also recently requested the appointment of a special proxy with judicial authorities to protect the legal rights of the two children in connection with the inheritance controversy. He is also operating a dedicated trust account to preserve the children's inherited assets and said he respects Koo Jun-yeob's decision regarding the inheritance equity allocated to him.