Woman behind Lee Yi-kyung allegations insists evidence is real, retracts earlier AI claim

Actor Lee Yi-kyung / Captured from his social media

A German woman who has repeatedly posted allegations about actor Lee Yi-kyung’s private life has issued what she called her “final statement,” claiming that all of the evidence she released is genuine despite previously saying it was fabricated with artificial intelligence (AI).

On Wednesday, the woman, identified as A, wrote on X, “I want to say this one last time,” adding, “I sincerely apologize for the confusion I caused. I said everything was a lie because I was scared — scared of being sued or having to pay damages, and worried about putting a burden on myself and my family.”

A continued, “AI can never generate photos of celebrities, and I have never used AI in that way. Everything I posted is real. I don’t want to make this situation bigger again, but if there are other victims unrelated to this case, I’m worried their courage might be dismissed as AI manipulation.”

A first posted the allegations on Oct. 20 through a Naver blog entry titled “Revealing the real Lee Yi-kyung.” The post included screenshots of alleged KakaoTalk messages and Instagram DMs with someone she claimed was Lee, containing requests for explicit photos, profanity, sexual remarks and vulgar conversations. The post also included photos purportedly taken on one of Lee’s filming sets.

Two days later, she abruptly apologized, claiming the posts had been “created with AI.” But she has since reversed her position on the matter multiple times.

Lee’s agency initially stated that it had “no further comment,” which fueled public speculation due to the absence of immediate legal action. However, two weeks later on Nov. 3, the agency announced that it had filed a police complaint through its legal representative, accusing those responsible for creating and distributing the posts of defamation and spreading false information.

The agency added that it had “never engaged in any settlement attempts or compensation discussions” and warned that it “would not do so under any circumstances.”

A posted again on Nov. 4, writing on X, “I’m thinking about releasing verification photos. It doesn’t feel right to end it like this. The AI explanation was a lie — I feel wronged. They made me out to be a bad person. I’ve never been sued.” She also hinted that she might release photos showing a specific color of clothing.

Lee’s agency has reaffirmed that it will continue legal proceedings. The controversy has already impacted his broadcasting schedule: His planned appearance as a new MC on KBS 2’s “The Return of Superman” was canceled, and he stepped down from MBC’s “Hangout With Yoo” after three years. The program and his agency both said the departure was due to a schedule clash, but Lee did not appear on his final episode to deliver a farewell message.

His participation in ENA’s “I Am SOLO” and E Channel’s “Brave Detectives” remains undecided.

This article is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.