As Lee Yi-kyung has declared he will seek legal responsibility against malicious rumors and blackmailers in earnest, the fallout is hitting innocent people as well. It has even grabbed the hair of national MC Yoo Jae-suk.
According to a media report on the 24th, the court issued a search warrant on the 21st for A's SNS account, and the police are moving to secure related data such as IP and login records from domestic portals and overseas SNS X (formerly Twitter).
Last month A published messages on a blog and X claiming they were private conversations with Lee Yi-kyung that contained obscene and criminal expressions, but Lee Yi-kyung's side rebutted that they were 'completely false.' A then changed their stance to say "AI manipulation" and later reposted the material, repeatedly switching positions and heightening confusion. Ultimately, Lee Yi-kyung's side filed a complaint on charges of blackmail and spreading false information, and Lee Yi-kyung said on SNS that "someone claiming to be German had been sending threatening emails for months," expressing his grievance.
But the fallout from the rumors also struck his broadcasting activities directly. MBC's Hangout With Yoo (hereinafter "Hangout") announced it was a "voluntary withdrawal," but Lee Yi-kyung recently exposed that "the production team first urged him to leave," bringing the controversy to a new phase. He said he was shocked to learn from an article that he had been replaced on the KBS2 program The Return of SUPERMAN, which he was scheduled to join.
Lee Yi-kyung insisted that the so-called "face-wiping" controversy that sparked the image damage was a shot done at the production team's request and that his explanatory remarks were edited out. The program's production team later issued an official apology, saying both the face-wiping controversy and the withdrawal process were "the production team's failure to protect the cast," and acknowledged that they had first urged the agency to withdraw.
However, public opinion has not cooled even after the apology. Viewers have continued criticizing, saying, "They ultimately shifted all responsibility onto the cast," and "We need to change the structure where people are removed when a controversy breaks and that's the end of it."
The controversy grew as the withdrawal processes of past Hangout cast members were again brought up. Jung Joon-ha said, "I received a sudden notice of withdrawal inside the car," and "I didn't just cry; I wailed," and Shin Bong-seon also admitted, "There were unpleasant aspects." During the simultaneous withdrawals of Lee Mi-joo and Park Jin-joo, the controversy over "why only the female members were removed" continued for a while.
In this situation, unexpected fallout has also hit MC Yoo Jae-suk. Some internet users questioned, "Shouldn't Yoo Jae-suk have stood up for colleagues who were unfairly forced to leave?" But many more internet users have pushed back. Opinions such as "He doesn't have casting or withdrawal authority over Yoo Jae-suk, so why blame him?", "Being in the middle is the most awkward position. Staying in that seat can be a weighty role," and "Don't spread the controversy to others. Blaming the MC for production issues is forced" have been expressed, growing a sentiment that criticism of Yoo Jae-suk is excessive.
Meanwhile, a search and seizure of distributor A who sent malicious rumors and threatening emails to actor Lee Yi-kyung is expected to proceed in earnest. Lee Yi-kyung repeatedly emphasized his firm intention to pursue legal action, saying, "With the warrant issued, the suspect will soon be identified." He added, "Even if they are in Germany, I will go there in person to proceed with the lawsuit, and there will be no leniency for malicious commenters."
The Lee Yi-kyung affair has spread beyond a simple personal controversy to raise questions about "variety show production methods" and "cast protection systems," and the aftershocks of the controversy are likely to continue for the time being.<
[Photo] OSEN DB'
[OSEN]