Actor Lee Yi-kyung suffered significant damage from the spread of private-life rumors, and a search and seizure of the blackmailer is scheduled to proceed. Three days after Lee Yi-kyung himself announced the filing of a complaint, the investigation gained speed and appears to be entering a new phase.
According to a media outlet on the 24th, the court issued a search warrant on the 21st to seize the SNS account related to person A, who spread rumors about Lee Yi-kyung. Accordingly, police plan to obtain IP and log data from A's domestic portal site and overseas SNS X (formerly Twitter) account.
According to reports, domestic portal site Naver is known to be actively cooperating with criminal cases such as threats. Because A used Naver blog and X to claim to expose the truth about Lee Yi-kyung, it is expected that identifying the person will not be difficult.
On that afternoon, Lee Yi-kyung immediately shared the news on his SNS and has taken an active stance. He personally informed the public of the police investigation status and actively supported efforts to clear the "private-life rumor."
Earlier, last month A published on Naver blog and X what was claimed to be private conversations with Lee Yi-kyung, releasing dialogue presumed to be from mobile messenger and SNS messages. In the conversation, the person A claimed was Lee Yi-kyung used obscene words and expressions implying sexual crimes, causing controversy.
Lee Yi-kyung's side immediately announced they would take legal action, saying "groundless," and A explained that the disclosure was manipulated by AI. It seemed the private-life rumor spreading case was settling, but A later reversed the claim and said it was not manipulated, prolonging the fallout.
In the process, Lee Yi-kyung left the MBC variety show Hangout With Yoo, where he was a regular cast member, and the MC position on KBS2's The Return of SUPERMAN, which he had newly joined, was also replaced. At first, the explanation given was a "voluntary withdrawal" due to scheduling, but because the withdrawal followed immediately after the private-life rumor spread, a variety of reactions followed.
Ultimately, after remaining silent except for his agency's statement, Lee Yi-kyung stepped forward himself. On the 21st, Lee Yi-kyung published a long statement on SNS along with the complaint form. He explained, "The reason I did not speak earlier was because the agency asked me to refrain from commenting until a lawyer was appointed and the criminal complaint against the spreader was completed."
Lee Yi-kyung added, "A few days ago I visited the Seoul Gangnam Police Station and gave a statement as the complainant. I conveyed my position on the rumor and completed the complaint procedures for threats and defamation by the spread of false facts," and said, "I felt anger rise every moment. Someone who claims to be a German I don't even know repeatedly appeared and disappeared, saying they had sent a threatening email to the company months ago, and the company once again tried to calm me by saying there was no reason to have a truth battle over the false facts," expressing his long-standing frustration.
In particular, Lee Yi-kyung revealed in the process that his departures from Hangout With Yoo and The Return of SUPERMAN were not voluntary, which shocked people. He said that the Hangout With Yoo production team first suggested he step down, leading him to choose a voluntary withdrawal, and that he learned about the MC replacement on The Return of SUPERMAN through an article. As a result, Lee Yi-kyung effectively lost jobs due to the spread of private-life rumors and threats.
As Lee Yi-kyung explained his position on the departures, the Hangout With Yoo production team also acknowledged that they had first suggested he step down. Subsequently, criticism toward the program emerged, and the aftermath continues.
[Photo] OSEN DB.
[OSEN]