(SBS)

Actress Ha Ji-won said Thursday she was surprised that South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye had received cosmetic services under the alias Gil La-im, a stuntwoman character which Ha had played in the hit romance series “Secret Garden.”

At a press event for the upcoming movie “Life Risking Romance,” the 38-year-old actress spoke about how she had learnt about the news.

“I was watching TV then, while having a casual dinner,” she said “Then, I was surprised to see Gil La-im appear in the news out of the blue.”

Later, she joked that she would not want her upcoming role of Han Je-in in the film “Life Risking Romance” to be used as such an alias, making reporters burst into laughter.

Ha also said during the press event that she was not aware of her inclusion in a blacklist by the government until a report in October by daily newspaper Hankook Ilbo showed the blacklist of 9,473 artists. She was reportedly blacklisted for endorsing opposition presidential candidate Moon Jae-in during the electoral campaign in 2012.

“I am engulfed in grief as others would be,” she said. “Before describing myself as an actress, one label that I hold dear above all is Korean.”

(Yonhap)

The remarks came a day after a source from her agency Haewadal told local media that the agency and the actress are “taking a cautious stance” in the escalating political scandal involving President Park and her confidante Choi Soon-sil.

Choi is alleged to have extorted donations from corporations, embezzled the funds and meddled in state affairs such as by editing drafts of presidential speeches. She has been under prosecutorial detention since early November.

President Park’s role in the scandal is still in question, but prosecutors have reportedly obtained evidence that Park was engaged in the extortion.

A news report by cable channel JTBC on Tuesday had said that the incumbent president had frequented a medical center for cosmetic treatment, even after taking office in 2013.

Prosecutors are investigating the president’s visits to the clinic, as it might reveal key evidence.

By Son Ji-hyoung (json@heraldcorp.com)

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