Ko Ji-yong says illness left him unable to pay child support, vows installment payments

Ko Ji-yong, 46, a former member of the K-pop group Sechs Kies, has acknowledged failing to pay child support to his ex-wife, family medicine specialist Heo Yang-im, 46, saying his prolonged illness made it impossible. Ko said he is now meeting his obligations. The admission came after Heo filed a lawsuit seeking unpaid child support, even as Ko had separately filed an injunction requesting that she stop interfering with his visitation rights and cease posting photos and videos of their son, Seung-jae, online.

According to Ko's agency, Mountain Movement, his monthly child support obligation is around 1.8 million won ($1,320).

Ko had been battling liver cirrhosis, liver fibrosis and shock shortly after the divorce, making it unavoidable that he fell behind on payments, the agency said.

"Ko Ji-yong collapsed and went to the hospital about a week after the divorce," the agency said. "How could he have paid child support when he couldn't even cover his own medical bills?"

According to Ko's side, he and Heo finalized their divorce by mutual agreement on April 24, 2024, and Ko was hospitalized on May 9 of that year with liver cirrhosis, liver fibrosis and shock. He was admitted to hospital multiple times over the following roughly two years as he focused on recovering his health.

Ko's side said disputes over child support payments and visitation rights emerged during that period.

After recovering his health following the lengthy illness, Ko recently resumed public communication through TikTok Live and signed an exclusive contract with Mountain Movement on July 21 of this year, signaling his full return to the entertainment industry.

"We signed the contract with Ko Ji-yong in July," the agency said. "The moment he started earning income, he paid child support first without even thinking about his hospital bills."

The agency added that Ko had told Heo he could not repay all the overdue support at once but proposed installment payments now that his situation had stabilized. "He asked to be allowed to see his child in return, but she sent another certified letter saying, 'No. Give me all the money. I won't accept installments,'" the agency said.

Ko's side filed an injunction against Heo on Wednesday seeking to bar her from interfering with his visitation rights and from posting photos and videos of the child online. According to Ko's side, Heo had pressured him to pay child support while he was ill and had his bank accounts and insurance seized through an attachment order.

Ko's side said it had notified Heo through a certified letter that he would fulfill his obligations, but received no response. "He is already paying regular child support, but we could no longer tolerate her refusal to let him see his child, her disregard for warnings about violations of child protection law, and her use of the child to promote her medical practice," the agency said.