As Taiwan's top actress Seo Hee-won (48) sadly passed away, her husband Gu Jun-yeop was publicly labeled a “hypocrite” by Chinese director Wang Zhiqi, who has now stirred controversy by indiscriminately criticizing the deceased's family and friends.
According to local Taiwanese media on the 14th, Wang Zhiqi posted a message criticizing Gu Jun-yeop and the deceased's family regarding Seo Hee-won's tree burial.
Before criticizing Gu Jun-yeop and the bereaved family, Wang Zhiqi pointed out the outfit of a close friend of Seo Hee-won, the chairman of the landmark Taipei 101, saying, “If you truly loved Seo Hee-won, you should not wear red or green clothes until the seventh day after her death. If you were really sad, you wouldn’t have worn red.”
In response, the chairman retorted, “What’s the problem? Hee-won loved beauty. Therefore, we all should be beautiful. We don’t believe in that superstition.”
Despite the chairman's rebuttal, Wang Zhiqi persisted, changing the subject to mention the deceased's tree burial, stating, “You do not deserve to be Seo Hee-won’s friend because you did not stop the tree burial. The tree burial is an act of not loving Seo Hee-won and her two children.”
He then lashed out at Seo Hee-won’s brother, Seo Hee-je, saying, “What right do you have to arrange the funeral and choose the tree burial? Why should Seo Hee-won be buried in a tree without a burial site?”
Not stopping there, he mentioned Taiwanese independence, threatening, “I will tear you apart. I like to enforce justice whenever I get bored,” to which the chairman responded, “Go ahead and try.”
Wang Zhiqi's nonsensical arguments and harsh words are receiving criticism not only domestically but also within the Chinese-speaking world. On the 9th, Wang Zhiqi stated, “I was a fan of Gu Jun-yeop’s late wife, Seo Hee-won. I felt sad upon hearing the news of her death,” but then belittled Gu Jun-yeop as an “old Korean man,” and criticized him, saying, “I cannot understand the hypocritical promotional statement. There is no pain of losing a loved one, only a calculative appearance everywhere.”
He even exacerbated the controversy by leaving a comment on Gu Jun-yeop's SNS statement after Seo Hee-won passed away, saying, “You are a phony person.”
Meanwhile, Seo Hee-won passed away on the 2nd due to pneumonia accompanying the flu while on a family trip to Japan. Her husband, Gu Jun-yeop, was by her side during her last moments, and the bereaved family brought her remains back to Taiwan on the 5th after completing the cremation process in Japan. Seo Hee-won’s urn has been temporarily placed in their home in Taiwan, and she will be laid to rest in a tree burial.
Regarding the tree burial, Seo Hee-je stated through her agency, “My sister said during her lifetime that she wanted an eco-friendly tree burial. Once the application for the tree burial is completed, we will return my beloved sister’s remains to nature.”
[Geum Bit-na, MK Sports Reporter]
