From left, Xu Xiyuan and Koo Jun-yup / Photo=Vogue Taiwan
“Koo Jun-yup is facing strong protests from residents for keeping his late wife Xu Xiyuan’s ashes at home for an extended period,” according to Taiwanese media ETtoday on the 4th (local time).
Koo Jun-yup and Xu Xiyuan’s family have not yet decided where to place Xu’s ashes. Koo wishes to have an independent space to commemorate his late wife, so her remains have been kept at their home for nearly a month. It is reported that Koo is not familiar with Taiwan’s private cemetery system, and the family has not contacted a funeral director yet.
In response, neighbors are expressing dissatisfaction, saying “Place Xu Xiyuan’s ashes somewhere quickly.”
Xu Xiyuan was married to Wang Xiaofei in 2011 and they had one son and one daughter, but they divorced in 2021 after 10 years of marriage. She reunited with Koo Jun-yup, a romantic partner from over 20 years ago, and they announced their marriage in March 2022. However, Xu Xiyuan died from acute pneumonia last month on the 2nd at the age of 48 while on a family trip to Japan.
After Xu Xiyuan’s death, Koo Jun-yup expressed his feelings, saying, “My angel has returned to the sky,” and added, “I am going through a period of indescribable sadness and pain that feels like my intestines are being torn apart.”
The issues of Xu Xiyuan’s large inheritance and the custody of the children born with her ex-husband Wang Xiaofei have been handled according to the law. Local media reported that the inheritance goes to her current husband Koo Jun-yup and the family. It was also mentioned that “the two children, being minors, will be under the management of their biological father Wang Xiaofei until they are 18.”