Woman reveals alleged lewd messages with Lee Yi-kyung, agency says she previously made similar claims demanding money

South Korean actor-comedian Lee Yi-kyung has been drawn into a scandal after a woman claimed online that they exchanged lewd messages.

A woman revealed 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 revealed screenshots of messages they had allegedly exchanged.

While the post has since been deleted, the screenshots were circulated online, with some showing the person, said to be Yi-kyung, asking the woman 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 released yesterday (Oct 20), sharing that they are preparing to take legal action.

The statement reads: "We are preparing legal action for damages caused by the spread of false information and malicious rumours in connection with the recent issue being posted and distributed on online communities and social media."

They implored others not to spread false information online, adding the latter would also be subjected to legal action.

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

In response to this, the woman, who claimed to be a German who taught herself Korean, admitted in a separate post in her blog that she had previously sent those messages to the company because she faced financial difficulties and "couldn't ask [her] parents for money".

She wrote: "Last year, I was in severe financial need and asked if [Yi-kyung] could send 500,000 won (S$460). I genuinely intended to repay it, and I never received money from him. I contacted him with a sense of guilt."

The woman also claimed she sent her photo to him: "I sent a selfie because he was curious about my appearance. I initially covered my chest with a flower emoji, but after he asked to see it, I sent the photo as it is."

She emphasised that she is not a scammer, adding that she had good intentions.

"The post I made wasn't about demanding money but to prevent other women from being victimised," she wrote.

[[nid:724084]]

yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com