Hwang Jung-eum and Kim Jong-kyu Spotted Dating While Filing for Divorce

Actor Hwang Jung-eum, who is filing for divorce, has found a new love. The opponent is reported to be basketball player Kim Jong-kyu (Wonju DB Promy).

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A media outlet reported on the 22nd that Hwang Jung-eum enjoyed an open date with the basketball star. They said they got to know each other at a difficult time and got closer while comforting each other.

In response to the reported romance, Hwang Jung-eum's agency said, "As a result of confirming the facts with her, she recently became fond of basketball player A. However, she coolly admitted that she is still in a cautious stage". She admitted that she met a new love about five months after her divorce from her ex-husband was reported.

Since then, it has been reported that Hwang Jung-eum's new lover is basketball player Kim Jong-kyu. The couple, who are seven years apart, enjoy dating confidently without being aware of people's attention even in public places such as swimming pools.

However, Hwang Jung-eum's side declined to comment on whether he was dating Kim Jong-kyu, saying, "It is difficult to confirm who he is". Kim Jong-kyu's side also said, "It is difficult to confirm because it is her personal life".

Kim Jong-kyu, who was cited as Hwang Jung-eum's romantic partner, started his professional career through Changwon LG in 2013. Later, he moved to DB in 2019 and averaged 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks last season, leading his team to rank first in the regular league.

He is 2 meters and 7 centimeters tall, and has been playing for the national team for 14 years since his college days. According to the KBL, he tied for fourth in Korea with an annual salary of 600 million won during the 2024-2025 season. His cumulative annual salary alone is reported to be over 5 billion won.

In addition, in September 2022, Kim Jong-kyu made headlines by purchasing a building in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, for 4.45 billion won under the name of a private corporation he founded. The reconstruction was carried out immediately after the purchase, and the interior was recently changed through a YouTube channel.

Hwang Jung-eum is currently in the process of filing for divorce from her previous marriage.

Earlier, Hwang Jung-eum married Lee Young-don, a former golfer-turned-businessman, in 2016, and had a son the following year, but faced a crisis of breaking up once in 2020. However, they later reunited and gave birth to a second son in 2022, but in February, she said she was in the process of adjusting for divorce. Later, during the divorce lawsuit, Hwang Jung-eum drew attention by posting an article indirectly acknowledging that the reason for the divorce was her husband's affair through her account.

However, she has been accused of defamation by posting an article that incorrectly identifies an unrelated ordinary person.

It was also reported that she lent a large amount of more than 900 million won to Lee Young-don and filed a civil lawsuit because she did not get back the money.

Even after the release of the divorce lawsuit, Hwang Jung-eum appeared in the SBS drama "The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection".