Actor Lee Yi-kyung's agency Sangyoung ENT issued an official statement regarding speculative reports and rumors circulating about his departure from the MBC variety program Hangout With Yoo.
In the official statement on the 17th, Sangyoung ENT explained, "We were notified of his departure during a meeting with the Hangout With Yoo production team, and at that time the production team conveyed that 'this matter was decided from above and will not be reversed.'"
It added, "We only expressed regret about that decision and did not ask or inquire at all whether the departure decision reflected Yu Jae-seok's opinion," emphasizing that it wanted to clearly draw a line regarding the alleged connection to Yu Jae-seok mentioned in some reports.
The agency also addressed the situation on the day the departure notice was given. Sangyoung ENT said, "In his phone call with Yu Jae-seok, Lee Yi-kyung had a conversation expressing regret, and the call ended with words of encouragement such as 'let's meet later and talk.'"
It added, "Lee Yi-kyung has not mentioned Yu Jae-seok even once since then," and made clear that the rumors currently spreading are not true.
Finally, Sangyoung ENT asked, "Please refrain from spreading speculative reports or rumors whose factual basis has not been verified beyond the above content."
The Lee Yi-kyung controversy began with an SNS exposé by a person surnamed A who claimed to be German. At the time a netizen identified as a German woman, A, posted screenshots of messages she said were conversations with Lee Yi-kyung containing sexual remarks, and Sangyoung ENT strongly denied the claims, saying, "All content is false, and we are proceeding with civil and criminal measures against the spread of false information." Lee Yi-kyung also said, "A search and seizure procedure is underway, and the complaint has already been filed. We will pursue this to the end until the suspect is identified."
But regardless of whether the claims were true, the controversy immediately affected his broadcasting activities. Lee Yi-kyung left MBC's Hangout With Yoo without saying goodbye, and his joining The Return of SUPERMAN was also canceled. At the time Yu Jae-seok explained on the broadcast, "He has many drama and film schedules, so he will be leaving," but later Lee Yi-kyung posted on SNS that "we were advised to leave variety shows and we chose to step down voluntarily," and the controversy entered a new phase.
Later the production team explained, "Given that rumors about Lee Yi-kyung's private life were spreading through the media and considering the nature of a variety program that needs to deliver laughs every week, we judged that it would be difficult for him to continue," acknowledging that they had advised him to leave.
Then on the 16th a YouTube channel sparked further uproar by claiming that during the process of negotiating Lee Yi-kyung's departure from Hangout With Yoo, the production team said it was 'a decision made by higher-ups,' and that Lee Yi-kyung's side repeatedly asked, 'Who are the higher-ups, do you mean Yu Jae-seok?'
Currently the rumors related to Lee Yi-kyung have been passed to investigative authorities, and the truth is expected to be determined through legal procedures.
[Photo] OSEN DB
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