Veteran Actress Gives Harsh Reality Check While Discussing Kim Sae Ron’s Demise

On February 16, KST, actress Kim Sae Ron tragically passed away at just 24. Since her passing, many in the entertainment industry have spoken up against the public vitriol she faced after getting involved in a DUI incident.

Kim Sae Ron

Veteran actress Park Jung Soo also addressed the topic of Kim’s passing, but she spoke with a both-sided perspective.

On March 1, Park appeared on actor Noh Joo Hyun‘s YouTube channel, and the two senior actors talked about Kim Sae Ron. While Noh expressed his sorrow at the actress’s untimely demise, he also added, “You can’t just mourn endlessly. In the end, it’s a case of someone who couldn’t overcome the waves of life.”

Park, however, referenced Kim Sae Ron’s DUI incident and suggested that the ultimate consequences stemmed from her own actions. She sharply noted that a public figure needed to be careful of their actions as their conduct affected them not only personally but also many others that are involved in a project with them.

Especially for someone as pretty as her, don’t you think the public tends to be less forgiving? Because of that, she really had to be careful. As in, our bodies are not completely our own. Say, I’m performing, and if I fall, it disrupts the entire production, doesn’t it? So, we always have to be careful. We need to be careful with our health, and when we go out, we have to be cautious, too.

— Park Jung Soo

But at the same time, the actress didn’t fail to call out the impossible standards the public held celebrities to.

Those who leave comments tend to be very harsh on celebrities. It would be nice if they could treat them a little more like ordinary people, somewhere in the middle.

— Park Jung Soo

When the production team mentioned Kim Sae Ron’s reported financial difficulties, as she was ordered to pay billions of won in penalty fees after her DUI incident, Park clarified that celebrities are not often as well off as people might think. The actress explained that while some of them made enough money to pay off large debts quickly, most don’t get more than ₩2.00 million KRW (about $1,370 USD) to ₩3.00 million KRW (about $2,050 USD) for each 60-minute episode of a show.

Meanwhile, Park Jung Soo is a veteran actress who made her debut in 1972. She is best known for her TV dramas such as Love and Farewell, Way of Living” Woman, LA Arirang, and Living in Style.