Actress Kim Min Hee has made her first official public appearance since welcoming a son with director Hong Sang Soo. She revealed that she brought her baby to the set while filming, balancing breastfeeding and preparing baby food with her work. At the same time, attention has also turned to how their son can be registered under South Korea’s family registration system, as Kim and Hong are not legally married.
Kim Min Hee Makes First Official Appearance Since Giving Birth
Kim Min Hee attended the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland in August to present Hong Sang Soo’s new film Nowhere to Lay My Eyes. It marked her first official public appearance alongside Hong since giving birth to their son in April last year. For the film, Kim was credited not only as an actress but also as production manager, and she later received an acting award at the Locarno Film Festival.
“I Brought My Baby to the Set and Breastfed”
During a conversation with the audience, Kim Min Hee personally revealed, “Nowhere to Lay My Eyes was the first film I made after having my baby.” She explained that she brought her child with her to the set throughout filming and stayed busy balancing breastfeeding and preparing solid food for the baby. According to Kim, she would first finish everything her child needed before turning her attention to the film.
Hong Sang Soo Remains Legally Married
Kim Min Hee and Hong Sang Soo grew close while working together on the film Right Now, Wrong Then and later publicly acknowledged their relationship. However, Hong remains legally married to his wife and therefore cannot legally register a marriage with Kim under his current marital status. This has also drawn attention to the legal status of the son born to Kim and Hong.
Legal Paternity Can Be Established Through Acknowledgment
Under South Korea’s current family registration system, a child born outside marriage is, in principle, registered at birth by the mother. If the biological father subsequently completes the legal process of acknowledging paternity, a father-child relationship is legally established, and the acknowledged father’s name is entered in the child’s family relations register. The child is also recorded in the biological father’s register. This means a legal parent-child relationship can be established regardless of whether the parents are married.
Making her first public appearance since giving birth, Kim Min Hee revealed that she has been balancing childcare with her filmmaking career. With a biological father able to establish a legal parent-child relationship through the acknowledgment process regardless of marriage, public attention has once again turned to the family circumstances surrounding Kim, Hong, and their son.
Sources: Daum