Kang Ye-won Reveals Struggle with Late Father's 1.1 Billion Won Debt and Unpaid Employee Wages

Kang Ye-won opened up about the burden of her late father's debts.

On the episode of SBS's "My Little Old Boy" that aired on June 14, actress Kang Ye-won made her first appearance as a new cast member.

During the broadcast, Kang drew attention by revealing that she has been cutting back on her spending. After reducing her monthly living expenses to 2 million won, she stated her plan to further decrease it to 1 million won next month.

Kang explained, "I felt I had to block all expenditures because of my father's medical bills. Intensive care units aren't covered by insurance, so the hospital bills reached tens of millions of won per month."

It was revealed that her father recently passed away after a long battle with illness, drawing sympathy from viewers. Kang shared what changed her mindset, saying, "At first, I just cried, but I couldn't keep doing that. I'm the eldest, so I have to do something."

Later, Kang visited a law firm and handed over documents to a lawyer. The lawyer asked, "Your father had a lot of debt from his business. Just looking at the documents you brought, the debt is around 1 billion to 1.1 billion won. Were you aware of this?"

Kang only learned about her father's debt after he passed away. The lawyer added, "About 300 million won needs to be repaid in May. I'm also worried that the debt might increase further. There could be more; there might be personal debts, and creditors could appear at any time," shocking her.

Overcome with tears, Kang said, "I didn't know it was this bad while my father was alive," expressing her distress over having to worry about debt repayment while still grieving his death.

Kang continued, "Still, he raised me well, so it's right that I take responsibility, but it's so difficult and I don't know what to do," sharing her honest feelings about the situation.

The lawyer advised, "There is a legal system for cases where debts exceed inherited assets, called 'limited approval.' You only have to repay debts within the limit of the inherited assets." He added, "Your mother could go through limited approval and then repay the debts after selling the inherited apartment. It would be better for you and your sibling to renounce the inheritance."

Hearing this, Kang could not hide her heartbreak, saying, "But that's the house where our family of four has lived for 30 years. It's heartbreaking to have to sell it."

The lawyer also explained that Kang does not have to repay the debts incurred by her father while running his business, stating, "Debts under the corporate name are not related to personal inheritance."

However, Kang mentioned the employees who had worked by her father's side for nearly 20 years, honestly stating that she wanted to do as much as she could for them.

Afterward, Kang visited her father's company to clear out the traces he left behind. She shed tears while looking at a family photo left on his desk.

On this day, Kang met with her father's employees. She expressed her sincere gratitude and delivered a portion of their unpaid wages.

Kang said, "After learning about the debt, I felt pathetic for never having taken responsibility for anything. I am so sorry and grateful. I will live the rest of my life repaying you with things greater than money. Thank you so much," expressing her gratitude to those who stayed by her father's side until the end and understood her situation.

(SBS Entertainment News, Editor Kim Hyo-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.