Singer Jo Gap-kyung Appears on 'Radio Star' Amid Son's Affair Controversy

Singer Jo Gap-kyung appeared on 'Radio Star' without any edits amid her son's affair controversy.

On the October 1st episode of MBC's variety show 'Radio Star' (hereafter 'Radio Star'), episode 959 featured guests Jo Gap-kyung, Chae Yeon, Go Woo-ri, and Lee Chae-young from fromis_9.

Jo Gap-kyung was introduced as the 'original military president.' She mentioned, "There's a lineage of female singers who frequently visit military bases every year. A year before me was Lee Ji-yeon, and before her was Kim Wan-sun. In the 90s, it was Kang Su-ji." Jo Gap-kyung was the most frequent guest on the 1989 show 'Stage of Friendship.'

Having hosted the Defense FM radio for seven years, Jo Gap-kyung shared, "I gained a true fan through this. She's a female fan who is now in her early 30s. She said she grew to like me a lot while listening to the radio. I told her, 'Why do you like me? I'm like a mother figure. You should like younger people.'" She proudly showed off gifts from the fan, including photo cards and a scrapbook of articles. She added, "I met a true fan later in life. I'm very grateful."

Jo Gap-kyung also revealed she has 'top star anxiety.' She said, "I get very anxious. I think, 'How many people must want to talk to this person?' so I can't approach them easily." She continued, "I met Jang Do-yeon for the first time today. I wondered if I could even talk to her," admitting she's more timid than she appears.

Additionally, Jo Gap-kyung mentioned, "I feel awkward around Kim Gook-jin too. Even though he's Su-ji's husband now, I still find it awkward. I can't call him 'oppa' easily," and she couldn't make eye contact with Kim Gook-jin, saying, "It's been overwhelming from the start."

Meanwhile, Jo Gap-kyung's former daughter-in-law, referred to as A, exposed her ex-husband B's affair and failure to pay child support on the YouTube channel 'Garo Sero Institute' on March 23. According to A, B had an affair with a temporary teacher at the same school just a month after A became pregnant.

A eventually filed for divorce in October 2024, and the court in the first trial recognized B's affair as a major cause of the marital breakdown, ordering him to pay 30 million won in alimony and 800,000 won monthly in child support until the child reaches adulthood.

In response, Hong Seo-beom stated, "The lawsuit is still ongoing, and no final conclusion has been reached," expressing regret that the family's image was distorted by the other party's claims.

However, on the 28th, five days later, Hong Seo-beom and Jo Gap-kyung issued an apology, stating, "After returning to Korea, we reviewed the judgment documents and the divorce proceedings, and we confirmed significant differences between what we were told and the actual situation. We sincerely apologize for not setting a good example as public figures."

A expressed anger over Jo Gap-kyung's appearance on 'Radio Star,' saying, "You ruined someone's life by letting your son have an affair, and now you're appearing on TV. You knew he was still seeing the other woman. You were wrong. You ignored it. Is it over just by paying child support? What about my wounds? What about my child's family? Reflect and apologize properly. You should have said something earlier. It might have eased my anger a bit. You made this situation worse. Now I have to see you on TV again. The victim continues to live in pain."

Tae Yuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr