Yoo Hee-yeol returns to radio after 3-year hiatus

Composer and singer Yoo Hee-yeol / Courtesy of Antenna

Singer-songwriter Yoo Hee-yeol has returned to broadcasting for the first time in three years following a plagiarism controversy, his voice trembling as he addressed listeners during a radio appearance.

Yoo appeared as a special DJ on MBC FM4U’s “Bae Chul-soo’s Music Camp” on Friday, filling in during the host’s vacation alongside a lineup of guest DJs, including musicians like Yiruma, Okdal and Yoon Do-hyun.

“I’m so nervous my mind has gone blank. I think I’m more nervous than I’ve ever been in my life — even my voice is shaking,” Yoo said at the beginning of the show. “On my way here, I had a lot on my mind. I’d like to express both my gratitude and my awkward apologies to those who welcomed me, those who listened silently and those who may have felt uncomfortable.”

Reflecting on his return, he said, “Sitting in a radio studio feels like coming back to a first love. It feels like I’ve finally stood in front of the mirror again. Looking back, the radio was like a mirror to me. What I see in the mirror today is likely marked with the stains of time and wrinkles formed through life.”

He added, “There may be comfort in letting go, but I want to share my true self with a heavy heart in a way that causes no harm.”

In 2022, Yoo faced allegations of plagiarizing a composition by Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. He later acknowledged that some similarities existed and stepped down from his long-running KBS2 music program “Yoo Hee-yeol’s Sketchbook.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.