"Should We Demand 1 Billion Won?"... Suspicion of Prearranged Scheme by Lee Yi-kyung's Accuser

[The Financial News] Actor Lee Yi-kyung’s agency, Sangyoung ENT, has obtained evidence suggesting that Mr. A, who spread rumors about Lee’s private life, may have premeditated a crime. As Lee suffered damages, including being forced to leave ongoing TV programs due to the rumors, his agency announced plans for strong legal action.

On the 27th, Sangyoung ENT stated that it had recently secured the contents of direct messages (DMs) exchanged between Mr. A and an acquaintance on a social networking service (SNS) via an anonymous tip. The messages included statements such as, "Should we send an email to Lee Yi-kyung’s company and ask for about 1 billion won?", "The company pays little, I’m short on living expenses, and I even sold my phone," and "According to ChatGPT, there’s no punishment. Let’s send the email first, and if it doesn’t work, we can just apologize."
In response, Sangyoung ENT said, "We suspect Mr. A of premeditating a crime and have handed the evidence to our legal representative," adding, "We will submit it to the investigative authorities to verify its authenticity."

On the other hand, Mr. A, identified as a German woman, shared her side of the story the previous day on the YouTube channel 'Entertainment President Lee Jin-ho.' She said, "I haven’t received the (complaint) documents yet, so I will wait and respond accordingly," and added, "I was scared when Lee Yi-kyung said, 'I’ll do XX with three friends.' The email I sent to the agency was not blackmail. I never asked for money, and I just wanted to confirm if it was really Lee Yi-kyung." She continued, "We exchanged messages for about a year and a half, and the last contact was around April or May this year. I received a message saying, 'I sent my grandfather off well.'" Mr. A also apologized, saying, "I’m sorry for making this a big issue. It seems he’s having a hard time, so I hope he never says 'I’ll do XX' to a woman again and lives well."

This incident began when Mr. A posted an article titled 'Revealing the True Side of Lee Yi-kyung' on a blog on the 20th of last month. The post included KakaoTalk and SNS DM conversations, allegedly between Lee Yi-kyung and Mr. A, containing requests for explicit photos, abusive language, and sexual harassment. It also featured photos from Lee Yi-kyung’s filming locations and selfies. On the 3rd of this month, Sangyoung ENT announced, "Through our legal representative, we have filed a complaint with the Seoul Gangnam Police Station against the authors and distributors of the post for spreading false information and defamation." The agency further warned, "There have been no attempts at settlement or compensation discussions regarding this matter, and there will be none in the future."

Due to the fallout from these rumors, Lee Yi-kyung stepped down from MBC TV’s 'Hangout with Yoo' after three years, and his planned role as MC on KBS 2TV’s 'The Return of Superman' was also canceled.
On the 21st, Lee Yi-kyung expressed his feelings on his social media. He wrote, "I was overwhelmed with anger at every moment. Someone claiming to be a German, whose identity I do not know, repeatedly appeared and disappeared, sending threatening emails to my company several months ago." He continued, "Once a warrant is issued, the suspect will soon be identified. Even if the person is in Germany, I will go there myself to file a complaint. There will be absolutely no leniency for malicious commenters."
hsg@fnnews.com Han Seung-gon Reporter