Hallyu actor Lee Byung-hun showed up in a Seoul court for the first time on Monday, in order to provide a witness testimony to the celebrity blackmailing case against model Lee Ji-yeon and Dahee of girl group GLAM.

Lee, 44, entered the court at around 1:37 p.m. accompanied by six to seven staff members, including his managers and bodyguards. The court decided to keep the court hearing as a closed-door process, citing that the occasion can deteriorate the prevalent morality of the time, if it were held in public.

The scandal-mired star remained silent against the pouring questions from the media, including the allegations that he offered to buy a house to model Lee Ji-yeon as well as his thoughts on the blackmailing case.

Actor Lee Byung-hun enters the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul to testify in the case against model Lee Ji-yeon and Kim Da-hee of girl group GLAM. The two female defendants are alleged to have attempted to blackmail Lee Byung-hun for 5 billion won ($4.5 million) in exchange for a video clip containing lewd remarks made by the 44-year-old actor. (OSEN)

The court hearing comes after Lee accused model Lee and Da-hee of blackmailing him for 5 billion won ($4.7 million) in return for a video footage that the women secretly took of him. In the video clip, he was having a sexual conversation with the two accused, sources said.

Yet, the controversy over the blackmail case faced a new row after model Lee claimed that she actually had been in a relationship with actor Lee for a few months. The actor flatly denied such claims.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)