Lee Yi-kyung's departure from Hangout With Yoo led to changes in the program's official poster, drawing attention as all the members' faces disappeared.
On the 6th, the MBC Hangout With Yoo official website's program description posted a new poster different from the original. While the original poster featured Yoo Jae-suk, Haha, Joo Woo-jae and Lee Yi-kyung, the revamped poster had removed the faces of all the members.
Until now, Hangout With Yoo's official posters always included the members' faces as the show expanded from a one-person format to a seven-person format. Among the posters released so far, this is the only one that features typography rather than images of the members, drawing attention.
Lee Yi-kyung quietly left Hangout With Yoo after his last broadcast on the 25th of last month. He joined as a new member in September 2022 and had worked with the show for three years, and he decided to leave due to overseas schedules.
On the matter, the production team said on the 4th in an official statement that "Lee Yi-kyung had many concerns about participating in the program due to his schedules, including overseas commitments, and recently expressed his intention to leave," and added, "The production team respected Lee Yi-kyung's opinion and after discussion decided to support each other's paths."
The production team added, "We thank Lee Yi-kyung for showing passion despite his busy schedule," and said, "The production team will continue to do its best to present good content."
However, there are no plans for a separate special broadcast marking Lee Yi-kyung's departure. Because Lee Yi-kyung decided to leave quietly, the farewell messages from Yoo Jae-suk and the other members will be included in the upcoming Hangout With Yoo broadcast.
Meanwhile, although some suggested that Lee Yi-kyung's sudden departure was related to recently surfaced rumors about his private life, that was confirmed not to be the case.
Recently, his agency, Sangyoung ENT, also posted a notice of legal action and said, "We express deep regret regarding false information and defamation related to actor Lee Yi-kyung. Through our legal counsel, we have submitted evidence of harm and filed a complaint with the Seoul Gangnam Police Station against the authors and distributors of the related posts on charges of spreading false information and defamation."
The agency also said, "We clearly state that we did not attempt any settlement or compensation discussions related to this matter, and we will not proceed in any form in the future," and added, "We will continuously monitor malicious posts that damage our actor's dignity and reputation and will continue legal action without leniency."
[Photo] official poster, OSEN DB
[OSEN]