South Korean actress Lee Si-young announced the birth of her second child, a girl, on Instagram on Nov 5.
Calling her daughter a “gift from God”, the 43-year-old – who has a seven-year-old son named Jung-yoon – shared several photos of her newborn and herself in the hospital.
“I’ll make sure Jung-yoon and Shik Shik-ie will be happy for the rest of their lives,” wrote Lee. The baby’s nickname means strong in Korean.
In her post, the Sweet Home (2020 to 2024) star also shared a photo of Jung-yoon, whom she shares with her ex-husband, restaurant entrepreneur Cho Seong-hyun.
Lee made headlines in July when she revealed she was pregnant with her second child via a frozen embryo transfer, after news of her divorce surfaced in March. The couple had been married for almost eight years.
“I prepared for my second child through in-vitro fertilisation during my marriage,” Lee wrote in an Instagram post on July 8.
“The fertilised embryo was not implanted and, as time passed, the topic of divorce was raised. As all the legalities (of our marriage) were being sorted out, coincidentally, the time came for us to make a choice as the five-year embryo storage limit was almost up.”
Lee added that her decision to have the embryos implanted was done without her former husband’s consent. She was also fully prepared to take responsibility for her decision and raise the child on her own.
Cho told South Korean media outlet Dispatch at the time that he was initially against Lee’s decision, as they are divorced. However, he said he will fulfil his responsibility as a father upon learning of Lee’s pregnancy.
An amateur boxer from 2010 to 2015, Lee participated in the 2025 Sydney Marathon in August when she was about seven months pregnant. She joined the 5km race with Jung-yoon on Aug 30, and the next day, she did a solo 10km race.
Lee was last seen in the comedy-action drama Salon De Holmes (2025), where she played one of four housewives who become amateur sleuths in their neighbourhood while rediscovering their aspirations. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
