Former Roo'ra member Chae Ri Na has opened up about the harrowing experience of postponing her wedding ceremony with her husband, Park Yong Geun.
The couple, who have been married for a decade now, recently appeared on an episode of TV Chosun's "Lovers of Chosun." During the appearance, Chae revealed that she had to postpone her marriage to Park—a former KT Wiz baseball player—after he fell victim to the infamous Gangnam stabbing incident that occurred on Oct. 17, 2012, at an underground pub in Sinsa-dong, Seoul.
A 38-year-old suspect, identified as Jegal, attacked a group of five people with a knife after they refused his request to lower their voices. The stabbing incident resulted in one fatality—namely Kang, the 36-year-old ex-wife of Kim Sung-soo, a rapper from the K-pop group "Cool." Kang was stabbed in the chest and pronounced dead shortly after being taken to the hospital.
Park suffered two deep cuts to his ribs and stomach. He was taken to the hospital, where he underwent major surgery to remove 40% of his liver.
"When Yong Geun was taken to the hospital in an ambulance, the doctors were saying there's a 1% chance he would survive," Chae recalled in the show.
Chae was also at the underground pub when the stabbing incident occurred. However, she was able to escape unharmed. The suspect was arrested on the evening of the attack.
The former K-pop idol noted that they were still friends at the time. However, their relationship deepened during Park's recovery, especially after the baseball player confessed his feelings just before being discharged from the hospital.
The couple married in 2016 but decided not to hold a wedding ceremony out of respect for the other victims of the incident. Now, after a decade of marriage, they are finally preparing for the wedding ceremony they never had.
