Actor Baek Jin-hee reveals she lost all 'High Kick' earnings to double-contract fraud

Actor Baek Jin-hee has revealed that she lost all of her earnings from an early-career sitcom to a penalty payment stemming from a double-contract scam.

On Monday, a video titled "A painful confession from the past — why I had to endure without complaining to those around me" was posted to Baek's YouTube channel "Jinie Is Back."

Asked about the most painful moments of her entertainment career, Baek said, "It was always painful and difficult for me." She added that while it might sound arrogant, she had lived so fiercely during that period that she has no desire to go back. "If someone told me to go back and do it again, I don't think I could manage it. That's actually why my 30s have felt so much more comfortable," she said.

She said her 20s were a particular struggle. "I wanted to do so well, but I had so little experience that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't fill that gap," she said.

Baek also opened up about what happened around the time she joined the sitcom "High Kick! The Revenge of the Short Legged."

"Before 'High Kick,' I was just an ordinary person — but for a while I couldn't go to the supermarket or even take the subway," she said.

She went on to say, "When I suddenly started getting attention, going somewhere crowded made me feel like I was standing still while everyone else flowed past me. I think that was the beginning of my panic disorder. I got through that period by doing pottery," she said.

Baek also recounted the ordeal she went through because of a double contract.

"It was right when 'High Kick' was just starting. My manager told me that a contract with another agency had ended, even though I already had a contract with my current company. But it turned out that wasn't true. It ended up being a double contract, and a certified letter came flying in," she said.

Baek then added, "I had just become known — something like that couldn't become a problem. Ultimately I lost every penny I earned from 'High Kick' to the penalty payment. It was a life lesson. I learned that you can't trust people too much," she said.