Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu and South Korean musician DJ Koo would have celebrated their third wedding anniversary on Feb 8. - PHOTO: ASOSBARBIEDEE/INSTAGRAM
TAIPEI (The Straits Times/ANN): South Korean musician Koo Jun-yup, also known as DJ Koo, has spoken out for the first time since his wife, Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu, died of pneumonia at the age of 48 on Feb 2.
Koo, 55, wrote two posts on Instagram on Feb 6, one in Korean and one in Chinese, each accompanied by a black background. Both spoke of Koo’s “indescribable” pain and also insinuated that Hsu’s former husband, Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei, has been slandering Hsu’s family.
Referring to Hsu as Hee-won, the Korean way to read her given Chinese name Hsi-yuan, Koo wrote in Korean: “On Feb 2, 2025, my angel returned to heaven. I want to express my deepest gratitude to all those who are mourning Hee-won. I am going through a time of indescribable sadness and pain, as if my heart is being torn apart. I do not have the strength to speak, nor do I want to.
“However, even before this time of profound loss and mourning can pass, some evil-hearted people have begun to slander our family and our love. Some pretend to be sad while walking in the rain, while others are creating fake news about insurance and money issues to hurt our family’s reputation.
“It’s frightening to realise that such malicious people truly exist in this world. Please, can’t you just let my Hee-won rest in peace? I sincerely beg you.”
Wang, 43, was spotted looking distraught while walking in the rain in Taipei by Taiwanese media after news of Hsu’s death broke.
Wang and Hsu, who share a 10-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son, married in 2010 and had an ugly split in 2021. Koo and Hsu, who previously dated in the late 1990s, rekindled their romance after Hsu’s divorce. They married in 2022 and would have celebrated their third wedding anniversary on Feb 8. They have no children together.
Since Hsu’s death, speculation has been rife about her inheritance and insurance payouts and how much of it would go to her children and Koo. There were also rumours that Wang chartered the private jet that transported Hsu’s ashes from Japan back to Taiwan, which Hsu’s younger sister – famed TV host Dee Hsu – has denounced as a lie.
Koo then announced his intention to give up his share of Barbie Hsu’s inheritance, the exact sum of which is unknown, to Hsu’s mother, Madam Huang Chun-mei.
“These are assets that Hee-won used her blood and sweat to earn, so she can protect the family she loved, I plan to give it up to my mother-in-law. As for the children’s portion, I will take legal measures through a lawyer to protect it until the children become adults, so that bad people cannot touch it,” he said.
He added: “The time I spent with Hee-won was a precious and invaluable gift that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. I believe that protecting the family that Hee-won loved most is the last thing I can do for her.”
Koo’s Chinese statement is largely similar to his Korean one, though he later amended the Chinese statement to remove a line that read: “I will not let any evil-doers come close to her children and will take measures through a lawyer to protect them till they are grown adults.”
He later clarified in an Instagram Story that the line might have “caused a misunderstanding”, and said: “As for the children’s portion (of Hsu’s inheritance), I hope to ensure their rights with the help of a lawyer.”
Hsu’s manager, Ms Angelina Liao, stood by Koo and criticised Wang in a Feb 6 Instagram Story as well, though her account has since been set to private.
Hsu’s sudden death has cast a pall over the Taiwanese entertainment industry.
Taiwanese TV personality and author Kevin Tsai hosted talk show Mr Con And Ms Csi (2004 to 2012) for 12 years with Dee Hsu and was close to the Hsu sisters. He showed up at a book event with Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto in Taipei on Feb 6, his first public event since the tragedy.
After reading a portion of Yoshimoto’s 1986 novella Moonlight Shadow, about two people who mourn the loss of their partners in a car accident, the 62-year-old broke down in tears.
He said: “No matter how much you miss someone, even if it is to the point that it makes you crazy, that’s not something to be embarrassed of.” - The Straits Times/ANN
