Wedding bells: Hip-hop duo Leessang likely 'done'

Leessang's Gary, left, and Gil / Korea Times file

By Ko Dong-hwan

Hip-hop duo Leessang has taken a deeper dive into the belief it will disband, after one member surprised the other by announcing his marriage Wednesday.

Gary said on Instagram that he had pledged to a woman from outside show business, but they had not married officially. The news caught many by surprise, including his offsider Gil, staff from the duo’s agency Leessang Company and members of SBS TV variety show “Running Man,” where he appears regularly.

The duo debuted in 2002 and has been an influential force in K-pop, releasing hits like “Clown,” “Rush,” “I’m Not Laughing” and “Can’t Breakup Girl, Can’t Breakaway Boy.”

But recent rumors said the two were no longer on friendly terms. While neither responded to the rumors, speculation spread after their last album in July 2015 and last concert later that year. They have not appeared together in public since and launched separate labels in April last year.

Leessang Company’s office in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, has been for sale since January and staff have left, reports confirmed. A former employee said the company, established 2011, only exists as a registered business name to receive copyright fees from the duo’s hits, according to Kyunghyang Shimmun.

The two appeared on many TV variety shows during their musical careers. Gil was in MBC’s “Infinite Challenge” for years and Mnet’s “Superstar K” as one of the celebrity judges last August. Gary was a regular fixture on “Running Man,” an Asian sensation, until last November.