Although year-end award ceremonies should be glamorous and enjoyable, the mood is not. Who will be the main winner of the MBC Entertainment Awards, which took a direct hit from Lee Yi-kyung's revelations and Park Narae's withdrawal?
The 2025 MBC Entertainment Awards will be held on the 29th at the MBC Media Center public hall in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, hosted by Jun Hyun-moo and Jang Doyoun.
MBC, which has won much love with heavyweight entertainment programs such as 'Radio Star', 'I Live Alone', 'Hangout With Yoo' and 'Omniscient Interfering View'. With so many stars leading the way—Jun Hyun-moo, Yu Jae-seok, Kian84, Kim Gu Ra, Kim Sung-Ju, Lee Young-ja, Kim Dae-ho, Park Narae—the competition has always been razor-close, bringing the pleasure of speculation and surprise winners, but this year the atmosphere is different. That is because it took a direct hit from recent issues surrounding the entertainment industry.
The first direct hit was Lee Yi-kyung's revelations. Lee Yi-kyung, who left Hangout With Yoo amid personal life rumors that he exchanged lewd messages with a German woman known as Ms. A, revealed that the production team forced him to cover it up, and when this became known some viewers grabbed Yu Jae-seok's collar, saying there was no way the opinion of Yu Jae-seok, who is symbolic of the program, would not have been included.
In particular, after winning at an awards ceremony Lee Yi-kyung said, "Are you watching 'SNL Korea'? I now have Thursdays off. I miss Haha hyung and Woo Jae hyung," while not mentioning Yu Jae-seok. After Lee Yi-kyung's departure, the Hangout With Yoo members are Yu Jae-seok, Haha and Joo Woo-jae, and because he mentioned two of them but excluded Yu Jae-seok, speculation arose that it might have been intentional. Following the departure controversy and even the grabbing of Yu Jae-seok's collar, Hangout With Yoo took a direct hit and its ratings plummeted.
If Saturday's flagship entertainment program Hangout With Yoo had its atmosphere shattered by Lee Yi-kyung's direct hit, Friday's flagship entertainment program I Live Alone was devastated by the Park Narae controversy.
Park Narae is currently embroiled in allegations of power harassment against managers and allegations that she received illegal medical procedures. Park Narae says she will pursue the matter in court by additionally suing former managers on embezzlement charges, but the illegal medical procedures known as the 'injection aunt' swept through the entertainment industry and turned it into a mess. Because of the controversy known as the 'injection aunt gate', SHINee's Key left I Live Alone, and YouTuber Ippjapgeun Haetnim suspended activities. Jun Hyun-moo dismissed suspicions by releasing his medical records, and Jung Jae-hyung, SHINee's Onew, Kang Minkyung and Hong Jin-young drew a line saying they have no connection to the 'injection aunt', leaving the entertainment industry in turmoil.
As the whirlwind of Lee Yi-kyung's revelations and the Park Narae controversy sweeps through, turning what should be a festival into something far from festive, attention is focused on who will be this year's recipient of the grand prize at the MBC Entertainment Awards.
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