Song Joong Ki, Song Hye Kyo divorce: How the Kdrama was negatively affected by the split of the former A-list couple

Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo were known as the golden couple but not anymore. The two recently called it quits, and their divorce has been finalized already.

Their separation shocked many people, and one of the reasons is that they were married for less than two years, but they are divorcing already. While most divorce cases take months and even years to be decided on, Joong Ki and Hye Kyo’s divorce case ended in less than a month, and the final decision was handed down by the judge in a little over five minutes.

The divorce of the Song-Song couple

Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo’s divorce concluded fast because they have no child yet thus, there was no need for a child custody court battle. Plus, both parties immediately agreed to no alimony and division of assets, so there is nothing more to address in their separation, and it was approved quickly.

The ex-couple was formally declared as singles in the third week of July, just three weeks after Joong Ki filed for divorce from Hye Kyo. As for the cause of their split, while they are claiming “irreconcilable differences,” people suspect that there are more reasons behind their split.

The divorce ignited additional clause in K-drama

Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo’s divorce was revealed to have a negative effect on the K-drama industry. It was said that the South Korean television industry changed the terms in their contracts when signing up actors for drama projects. An additional clause was added in the contracts, and this was created following the Song-Song couple’s divorce, as per The Straits Times.

In the contract, it was stipulated that actors who will cause controversies as a result of divorce while their drama is airing will be penalized. They have to pay back the production company, and the amount is three times of what they received as contract fees.

Song Joong Ki made his comeback in drama after his marriage to Song Hye Kyo via tvN’s “Arthdal Chronicles,” and it was well-received at first. It has high viewership ratings but when the divorce news came out, the drama reportedly suffered from a steep decline of viewers, and its ratings eventually slid down, and this is the main reason for the new divorce clause in K-drama contracts.

"Before Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo's divorce, in the casting contract of the drama, there was no provision regarding divorce,” Allkpop quoted a drama industry rep as saying. “However, after their divorce news was disclosed, 'divorce' was added to the 'personal reason' section of the contract. In case the scandals related to divorce arose and affected the work, the artist will have to compensate up to 3 times the amount of contract compensation."