Sidus, actress Jun Ji-hyun`s management agency, denied a news report that Jun is a "hwagyo" and said it is considering to take legal action.

An internet media reported on Thursday that Jun was verified as a hwagyo (ethnic Chinese in Korea) during the prosecution`s recent investigation of her duplicated mobile phone scandal, quoting an unnamed official at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors` Office.

"We don`t know if he kept his Taiwanese nationality, but Jun Ji-hyun`s father is an ethnic Chinese, and Jun Ji-hyun is an ethnic Chinese herself," the media reported, quoting the source as saying.

There have been rumors about Jun`s ethnicity since her debut in 1997 because she started to use another surname, Jun, instead of her real one, Wang. Wang is a typical Chinese last name, although it is also common in Korea.

The actress, however, has been denying her roots in numerous interviews since now.
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"What about it if I am an ethnic Chinese? I don`t understand why it needs to be hidden. Isn`t it a good thing since I would also be able to speak Chinese? Sometimes I even think that it is too bad that I am not an ethnic Chinese when I hear those rumors," she had said in one interview.

Jun is an A-list actress in Korea. Overcoming the mobile phone scandal, she recently renewed the contract with her former agency, which was accused of duplicating her phone. She is currently concentrating on promoting her new film "Blood: The Last Vampire" which will be released in Japan next month.

(claire@heraldcorp.com)