'I started these posts as a joke': Woman says lewd messages with Lee Yi-kyung generated by AI

The woman who accused South Korean actor-comedian Lee Yi-kyung of exchanging lewd messages with her has now admitted the conversations and photos were generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

In two X posts today (Oct 22) written in Korean, the woman — who previously shared that she is a German who taught herself the Asian language — confessed to having started the whole saga as a "joke". The account has since been taken down.

The first post reads: "Hello Koreans, as some of you know, I recently posted a lot of pictures about actor Lee Yi-kyung. I didn't expect the post, which started out as a joke, to receive so much attention. But as I continued writing and using AI photos, I've come to believe it's becoming more and more real."

She continued her explanation in a second post: "I'm truly sorry for spreading malicious rumours about actor Lee Yi-kyung. What started as a fan's enthusiasm gradually led to emotional over-involvement. I feel guilty because it seems like what I started for fun has become a reality. If there's any responsibility I need to take, I will take it."

This comes after she claimed in her personal blog recently that she was in contact with the 36-year-old, whose popular works include K-drama Marry My Husband (2024), and included screenshots of their alleged conversations.

Although she deleted the post later, the screenshots were shared online, showing the person, allegedly Yi-kyung, asking her about her chest size and wanting her to send photos of her body.

Yi-kyung's agency Sangyoung Entertainment denied the allegations in a statement yesterday stressing that they will take legal action.

South Korean media also reported a source from the company shared that they had received similar content from the woman a few months ago with a demand for money. However, she allegedly retracted her claims and apologised for spreading false information later.

The woman then responded in a separate blog post that she had sent those messages to the company previously because she was facing financial difficulties. She added that she sent Yi-kyung her bare-chested selfie at his request, insisting she was not a scammer and was trying to "prevent other women from being victimised".

In multiple X posts yesterday afternoon, she wrote in both Korean and English, still insisting what she had claimed were true.

One of the posts reads: "In the articles, it was mentioned I wrote to the company that it was all a lie, which is true, and I had to do it because I was threatened with getting sued by his side. It might sound like lies, which is why I'm trying to get as much information and proof as possible."

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com