Actor Lee Yi-kyung's Rumor Spreader Identified Soon; Actor Vows Strong Legal Action

Actor Lee Yi-kyung, who suffered significant damage from personal life rumors that led to his departure from ongoing variety shows, is nearing the identification of the individual who spread these falsehoods.

The investigation is reportedly progressing rapidly following the completion of legal procedures.

According to a media report on the 24th, a court issued a search and seizure warrant on the social media account of individual 'A', identified as the rumor spreader targeting Lee Yi-kyung, on the 21st. Consequently, the police plan to secure IP and login data from domestic portal sites and the overseas social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to pinpoint A's identity.

Naver, a major domestic portal, has also reportedly been cooperating actively with criminal investigations related to threats. Given that Naver blogs and X were the platforms where 'A' posted alleged revelations about Lee Yi-kyung, identifying the individual is not expected to be difficult.

Lee Yi-kyung himself shared the report on his social media, actively providing clarifications. After remaining silent, only issuing official statements through his agency, Lee Yi-kyung finally addressed the personal life rumors and his subsequent variety show departures on his personal account on the 21st.

At the time, Lee Yi-kyung stated, "The reason I did not speak out until now was due to my agency's request to refrain from comments until a lawyer was appointed and the criminal complaint against the spreader was finalized." He added, "A few days ago, I visited the Seoul Gangnam Police Station and completed my statement as the complainant. I conveyed my position on the rumors and completed the complaint process for threats and defamation by false information."

"I was furious every moment," Lee Yi-kyung confessed. "Someone claiming to be a German individual, whom I don't know or have any connection with, repeatedly sent threatening emails to my company months ago, appearing and disappearing. My company reassured me again, stating there was no reason to engage in a battle of truth over false information."

Regarding his departure from MBC's 'How Do You Play?', he revealed, "I was advised to leave the show. Although it was claimed to be fabricated and disappeared within a day, it led to me being asked to step down, and we chose to voluntarily withdraw. Even during the previous 'noodle-chewing' controversy, I clearly stated I didn't want to do it, but they asked me to, saying the noodle restaurant was rented because of me. My line, 'We're doing this for variety!', was edited out. Later, when the controversy erupted, the production team only offered the absurd excuse that they were rushed, and the controversy was solely my burden, severely damaging my image."

He continued, "For other variety shows, I was informed I would only appear via VCR, but I learned of my replacement through news articles." However, he noted, "Filming is proceeding without changes. I recently finished filming the movie 'Génération Perdue' and am progressing well with filming for a Vietnamese film, an overseas drama, and variety shows."

Lee Yi-kyung clearly stated his intention for strong legal action: "The conclusion you're all curious about is that the suspect will be identified soon after the warrant is issued. Even if they are in Germany, I will personally go to Germany to file the complaint. There will be no leniency for malicious commenters either."

In response, 'How Do You Play?' officially stated on the 22nd via their social media, "We apologize to all who love 'How Do You Play?' for causing concern with this matter. Regarding the issues related to Lee Yi-kyung's post on Friday the 21st concerning 'How Do You Play?', we will speak frankly."

First, concerning the noodle-chewing controversy, the production team admitted, "The noodle-chewing situation mentioned by Lee Yi-kyung was the production team's oversight in not protecting the cast member. Lee Yi-kyung, who worked hard to provide laughter for viewers, spontaneously showed the noodle-chewing situation during the filming of the Hong Kong and Japan episodes, and at the time, the production team judged the reaction not to be bad." They added, "Later, to provide more fun, we asked Lee Yi-kyung to do noodle-chewing again, but our greed went too far."

Regarding the departure, they explained, "Given the situation where rumors about Lee Yi-kyung's personal life were being amplified through the media, we judged it difficult to continue participating in a variety show that must provide laughter every week."

According to the production team, as Lee Yi-kyung mentioned, the production team first suggested his departure to his agency. The production team stated they would respect the agency's decision even if they made the departure request public. However, Lee Yi-kyung's agency later contacted them, stating they would choose to voluntarily withdraw due to schedule conflicts.

'How Do You Play?' concluded by requesting, "As the party that suggested the departure, the production team asked Lee Yi-kyung to mention his voluntary withdrawal due to schedule conflicts, which was discussed with his agency, as a minimum courtesy. The cast members followed our request out of consideration for Lee Yi-kyung. We ask that you refrain from criticizing or making speculations about other cast members."

Korean netizens reacted with strong support for Lee Yi-kyung, commenting, "Lee Yi-kyung, stay strong! I hope the truth is revealed.", "Please catch the spreader and make them face proper punishment.", and "You must have felt so wronged due to the editing... I hope everything can be set right now." Many expressed a desire for the truth to come out and for the perpetrator to be held accountable.