SEOUL – One of South Korea’s top actors apologised after it was revealed he fathered a child with a woman he is not married to, sparking nationwide scrutiny in a country where births outside marriage are still seen as taboo.

Jung Woo-sung, an A-lister in South Korea’s competitive film industry since his debut in the 1990s, made headlines this week after his agency confirmed the 51-year-old actor is the biological father of model Moon Ga-bi’s son born in March.

Days earlier, Ms Moon, 35, revealed she recently became a mother, without disclosing the identity of the child’s father. A local news report claimed that the model wanted to marry Jung to “provide her child with a family”, but the actor declined.

Although Jung vowed to “fulfil his responsibilities” as a father, his silence on plans to marry Ms Moon sparked intense backlash, with many calling him “irresponsible”, in a society where deep-seated stigmas against unmarried mothers and their children persist.

“I am truly sorry to all those who have shown me love and believed in me for the concern and disappointment I have caused,” Jung said late on Nov 29 as he took the stage as a presenter at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.

“I will accept and bear all the criticism. As a father, I will fulfil my responsibilities to my son until the very end,” he said.

Jung has long cultivated a scandal-free image. He served as a goodwill ambassador for the UN refugee agency for nearly a decade until July.

Critics this week have compared the baby&...