Former baseball star-turned-TV personality Yang Joon-hyuk is taking heat for how he treated his wife, who is 19 years younger, on a variety show. After KBS2's Boss in the Mirror aired, critics flooded online forums asking, "Isn't Yang Joon-hyuk sidelining his wife?"
The Nov. 30 episode of Boss in the Mirror followed Yang's day-to-day in Guryongpo, Pohang, where he runs four businesses: a yellowtail farm with annual revenue reportedly around 3 billion won (about $2.2 million), plus a cafe, sashimi restaurant and fishing spot. "I raise about 12,000 big yellowtail," he said, adding, "When it comes to yellowtail, I'm confident I'm No. 1 in Korea," showing just how invested he is.
The rub was that his affection seemed to rank above his wife. When staff teased, "Hyung even kisses the yellowtail," his wife Park Hyun-sun laughed it off, saying, "You barely do that with me." Watching from the studio, Jun Hyun-moo asked, "Then where does your wife rank?" Yang replied, "These days the fish are almost on par with my daughter Jae, and my wife is below that," freezing the room. Flustered, he quickly walked it back to, "My wife is No. 1," but the damage was done—and viewers blasted him for seemingly valuing the fish more.
There were more moments that felt short on spousal warmth. Park showed up at the farm early with a spread for her husband and the staff: five-grain rice, low-sugar chicken-breast rice balls and soup. Yang, however, ticked off complaints—"You should've brought kimchi," "It's a bit bland," "The five-grain rice is rough"—prompting groans from the panel. Commenters in the studio shook their heads: "Hard to believe he still got married," and "Hearing that would really kill the mood."
The 'sidelining the wife' charge grew around money matters, too. Yang said he had poured more than 200 million won (around $150,000) into expanding the fish farm, buying a 1-ton truck and a 5-ton water truck back to back. With daily feed alone costing 1.5 million to 2 million won ($1,100 to $1,500), Park—who learned of it after the fact—asked, "So there's nothing set aside for me?" Yang answered, "You earn and spend from the cafe," shocking everyone again.
When asked who holds the purse strings, Yang said, "I give her household expenses together with a salary," but the panel bristled, saying it felt like he treated his wife like an employee. Jun Hyun-moo even cracked a bitter joke: "If someone with that mindset can get married, what's wrong with me?"
Viewer reactions split after the broadcast. Online communities and social media filled with critiques like, "What's with that attitude toward a wife 19 years younger?", "Talking like that to a wife young enough to be your daughter crosses a line" and "There's zero affection in his words." Others urged a lighter take: "Looks like he's hamming up the variety-show concept," and "He might be much more caring off-camera."
Yang married Park Hyun-sun, who is 19 years younger, in 2021. In December last year, he welcomed his first daughter at age 55.