SEOUL– The daughter of pianist Paik Kun-woo has denied a recent news report that claimed she neglected to take care of her actress mother Yun Jung-hee, who is struggling with Alzheimer’s disease in France.
An MBC program on Tuesday revisited the allegation first raised in February by Yun’s younger siblings in South Korea through a public petition to the presidential office.
The two sides are currently engaged in a legal battle at a Seoul court over guardianship of the renowned actress.
The daughter, Paik Jin-hee, a violinist based in Paris, issued a statement on Monday (local time), saying that groundless rumors about her mother are being spread continuously, keeping her from staying in stable condition, according to Vincero, Paik Kun-woo’s agency based in Seoul, on Friday.
The father and daughter are making every effort to look after Yun, she added.
The statement was issued jointly by her and lawyers representing a French welfare organization that is taking care of Yun, and supported by her father.
Vincero warned of legal actions against Yun’s siblings on charges of defaming her, infringing on her rights and disseminating false information.
In the news report, Yun’s younger brother repeated his claim that she has been neglected and isolated and that her husband has not cared for her though he has enough money.
The brother also said he has not been able to visit his sister since her husband and daughter were named her legal conservators by a French court in November last year.
Yun, 76, was one of the most popular movie stars in South Korea in the 1960s and 1970s. She starred in more than 300 films, including “Poetry,” which won best screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010.
Paik, 74, is one of the best internationally known South Korean pianists. In 2019, Paik unveiled that his wife had been suffering from Alzheimer’s for about 10 years.
Source: Yonhap News Agency