Hwang Hyun-min claims he paid W20m to settle Bae Jeong-nam assault case involving Marco

Hwang Hyun-min, a restaurant entrepreneur and former member of the group Jam, has made new claims about a 2009 brawl involving broadcaster Bae Jeong-nam and Marco, taking direct aim at Bae in the process.

Hwang said on his social media account Monday that he had been the head of Marco's agency at the time and shared his account of the incident.

"When Marco was at the height of his fame appearing as a couple with Son Dam-bi on 'We Got Married,' he beat up Bae Jeong-nam at a club and knocked out two of his front teeth, and I paid 20 million won out of my own pocket to settle the matter," Hwang wrote, adding, "I remember running around like crazy trying to keep it out of the news."

He went on to claim that "Bae Jeong-nam showed up that night with four gangsters from Busan, and Marco and I went out and dealt with them ourselves."

In a separate post, Hwang said he would "dig up in detail" his vivid memories of that night and his subsequent encounters with the gangsters, using the word "exhume" to describe the exercise. "If there is even one lie in what I say, I deserve to be sued and punished," he wrote. He also took a direct shot at Bae, saying, "You should have at least come to me and apologized for bringing those gangsters back then," and adding, "We were close like brothers — why bring gangsters into it?"

One apparent reason Hwang turned on Bae is a difference in political views. After Bae drew attention by sharing photos of vintage Korean flags from his personal collection to mark Liberation Day, Hwang labeled him a "left-winger who supports Cho Kuk" and used the occasion to air the old brawl. Hwang has previously shown conservative leanings, including expressing support for election-fraud protests held at Seoul Olympic Park.

Hwang's account of the brawl differs from what Bae and Marco have previously said, however, and cannot be taken as established fact.

The 2009 incident involved a physical altercation between Bae Jeong-nam and Marco at a club, in which Bae came out the worse and bystanders stepped in to break up the fight.

Appearing on MBC's "Radio Star" in 2017, Bae said he had gone to another floor of the club to greet Marco after hearing he was there. "One of Marco's group gave me a dirty look, suddenly hit me and ran off, then came back and apologized," he said. He added that five months later, a video in which his face was not even visible began circulating online as if it were of him. "I didn't say anything to clear my name because I was worried it would hurt Marco. After that, all my work dried up — my ads, everything. That's what happened because I was trying to protect him."

A few months after Bae's account, Marco appeared on MBC Every1's "Video Star" and said the assault had not been between him and Bae, but between Bae and a separate acquaintance of his. He also said the two had spoken by phone and had no lingering hard feelings between them.