Ko Ji-yong and Heo Yang-im's dispute: Son follows only mother on SNS

Seung-jae, the son of SECHSKIES member Ko Ji-yong, has drawn significant attention after opening his personal SNS account, where his following list exclusively features his mother Heo Yang-im's account. Ko's account was not found in the list. While this could simply be a personal social media usage pattern, interest is intensifying as it has been revealed that the two are currently undergoing legal proceedings regarding Seung-jae's visitation rights and media exposure issues.

Seung-jae opened his personal SNS account last August. At the time, his mother Heo Yang-im personally announced the news, stating, “Seung-jae created an account today. He says he will manage it himself, so please visit.” Since then, Seung-jae has been steadily posting photos and videos from his daily life, communicating with peers and netizens. Since the account's creation, he has garnered considerable online interest, with his follower count exceeding 10,000.

However, a notable detail was discovered in the recently revealed following list. Among the accounts Seung-jae follows, only Heo Yang-im's account was confirmed, while Ko Ji-yong's account was not included. That said, one cannot conclude the relationship or emotional state between family members based solely on SNS following status. Since it is an account managed directly by Seung-jae, the choice of which accounts to follow falls within the realm of personal judgment.

Ko has also publicly expressed his affectionate feelings for his son recently. Last month, he posted a photo taken with Seung-jae on his SNS, leaving the message, “Always miss you, my baby boy.” He directly expressed the heart of a father missing his son. As it is known that Ko does not have a separate account in his current following list, there are many variables that make it difficult to interpret the father-son SNS relationship based on simple follower numbers.

The interest has grown further due to the real-world situation surrounding the father-son relationship. On the 16th, Ko applied for a provisional injunction against his ex-wife Heo Yang-im to prohibit interference with visitation rights and to prohibit the posting of the child's photos and videos. Ko's side claims that since the divorce in 2024, he has met Seung-jae six times and sent a cease-and-desist letter to Heo Yang-im requesting her to stop the media exposure of Seung-jae, but his request was not accepted. According to Ko's side, following a request for installment payments of child support, the situation has led to the application for a provisional injunction and a petition for a visitation judgment.

Heo's explanation differs. Heo explained that they did not separately determine regular visitation at the time of the divorce, and that she had filed a petition for a visitation judgment with the court first after Ko claimed she was unfairly restricting his visitation rights with their son.

As the claims of both sides clash over the same situation, there is an increasing need to organize the specific facts and legal rights through a court judgment.

Seung-jae first became known to the public by appearing on the KBS2 variety show 'The Return of Superman' with his father, Ko Ji-yong. The sight of Seung-jae, who appeared on television as a young child with his father, now having grown up and managing his own SNS, carries a different meaning. He has grown from the cute child seen on television into a teenager who reveals and communicates his daily life on his own.

Ultimately, what is drawing attention is not the fact that he 'did not follow his father' itself, but rather that as Seung-jae grows, the boundaries of privacy surrounding the family have emerged as a new issue. As the positions of both sides regarding the child's visitation rights and media exposure following the parents' divorce are being handled in a court of law, Seung-jae's SNS activity is receiving interest beyond mere celebrity news. However, caution is needed when interpreting the SNS choices of a minor child as being directly linked to the conflict between parents.