Actor Lee Yi-kyung's side flatly refuted various rumors, including talk of "Yu Jae-seok's involvement," that arose over his exit from MBC's variety show Hangout With Yoo.
Lee Yi-kyung's agency, Sangyoung ENT, issued a statement on the night of the 16th, saying, "Regarding Lee Yi-kyung's departure from MBC's variety show Hangout With Yoo, we wish to correct the spread of speculative reports and rumors from some quarters that differ from the facts."
The agency described the circumstances at the time of the exit notice in detail. The agency said, "We were informed of the departure during a meeting with the Hangout With Yoo production team, and the team conveyed that 'this is a decision made from above and it will not be reversed.'"
It went on, "Accordingly, we only expressed regret over the production team's decision, and we make it clear that we never asked whether the decision reflected Yu Jae-seok's opinion or inquired about it in any way."
They also disclosed the conversation between Lee Yi-kyung and Yu Jae-seok right after the exit notice. The agency said, "On the day of the notice, Lee Yi-kyung and Yu Jae-seok spoke by phone and shared a conversation filled with regret, and the call ended with words of encouragement, 'Let's meet later and talk,'" and dismissed speculation by adding, "Since then, Lee Yi-kyung has not mentioned Yu Jae-seok even once."
Earlier, Lee Yi-kyung left Hangout With Yoo amid the fallout from controversy over a German woman's disclosure about his private life. The production team said it was a scheduling issue, but later Lee Yi-kyung himself said, "I was encouraged to step down and chose to leave voluntarily," prompting a dispute over the truth.
The controversy then veered in an odd direction. On the 6th at an awards ceremony in Taiwan, Lee Yi-kyung mentioned only Haha and Joo Woo-jae in his acceptance speech and did not mention Yu Jae-seok, leading some to question whether he was taking aim at Yu Jae-seok. The agency explained, "There was absolutely no intention to target Yu Jae-seok," and asked, "Please take the acceptance speech at face value."
As the YouTube channel "Entertainment President Lee Jin-ho" raised the controversy again by claiming the agency repeatedly checked with the production team about whether Yu Jae-seok was involved, the agency is seen as responding strongly once more, calling it "groundless."