Lee Seung-gi's new groom emphasizes 'responsibility for the family'

There is no mention of the victims created by the future father-in-law or mother-in-law. Lee Seung-gi is busy taking care of his 'bride-to-be' Lee Da-in, who has become his lifelong companion. It seems like they have erased negative issues and filled their lives with only excitement for the future.

Lee Seung-gi attended the production presentation of the JTBC entertainment program 'PEAK TIME' (planned by Hyun-jun Yoon, directed by Geon-young Ma and Ji-ye Park) held at the Grand Ballroom of the Stanford Hotel in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 15th. 'Peak Time' is an entertainment program in which MC Lee Seung-gi returns amidst a legal dispute with his former agency, Hook Entertainment, and is also his first official appearance since announcing his marriage to actor Lee Da-in.

On this day, Lee Seung-gi said, “I have made the biggest decision of my life and will get married with Lee Da-in on April 7th. “I am grateful for the congratulations from many people, and I am spending happy days because my colleagues look at me with warm eyes.” He added, “Personally, I am fulfilling my responsibilities as the head of the family and as an entertainer, I am preparing to start working as an MC, work, and music this year. “I will prepare a lot and show you it slowly, one by one, so please look at it with warm eyes.”

He also expressed his gratitude to the production team. Regarding choosing 'Peak Time' as the return broadcast during difficult times due to legal disputes with his former agency Hook Entertainment over settlement of music, advertisements, etc., he said, "The production team of 'Peak Time' is the production team of 'Singer Gain'. When they suggested the program, we gladly accepted it. “The reason I accepted it was because the production team did not want to lose warmth and emotion within the framework of audition competition. It is difficult for competition, warmth, and emotion to coexist, but I came to trust the production team because they never lost sight of that value.”

However, there was no mention of the 2016 stock price manipulation incident involving Lee Hong-heon and Gyeon Mi-ri, a future father-in-law and mother-in-law couple, which has recently become a big issue. At the time, Mr. Lee was sentenced to four years in prison and fined 2.5 billion won in 2018 on charges of making billions of won worth of illegal profits by falsely disclosing favorable information, such as that Hong Kong-based capital was investing when the company increased its paid-in capital, and boosting the stock price. He was sentenced, but was found not guilty on appeal the following year. Gyeon Mi-ri, who was the majority shareholder of the same company, also became a subject of controversy.

The public's reaction to Lee Seung-gi, who has an economics instructor and father-in-law, is mixed. More than 300,000 people were victims of the stock price manipulation by Gyeon Mi-ri and his wife. There were also people who made extreme choices.

Of course, all of this was entirely planned by Gyeon Mi-ri and her new husband. However, Lee Seung-gi, who became the 'prospective son-in-law', is a top star and public figure leading Korea. Isn’t he a star with such influence that public opinion can be moved by a single word from Lee Seung-gi?

As it has become an issue, it is a 'responsible' attitude as a public figure to add at least a word about the relevant content. The 'responsibility' that Lee Seung-gi mentioned in his official appearance after a long time was simply his feelings and actions toward his girlfriend Lee Da-in.

The dictionary meaning of 'responsibility' is 'a mind that attaches importance to the duties or obligations to be carried out.' Since he has already decided to join the Gyeonmi-ri family, the 'stock price manipulation incident' is not a problem that Lee Seung-gi can avoid. As a veteran in his 19th year of debut, I hope he doesn't take on 'selective' responsibility. Lee Seung-gi's mission is not limited to 'love'. As a public figure, if you remain ignorant of things that need to be clearly addressed, it will only take a moment for the image you have created as a ‘nation’s son’ to collapse.

[Correction Report] Regarding the report in this magazine's February 15, 2023 issue, "There was no mention of Lee Seung-gi as a 'victim'... The new groom only emphasized 'responsibility to the family'"

On February 15, 2023, this magazine posted <There was no mention of Lee Seung-gi as a "victim" in the entertainment topic section of its website... Under the title 'A new groom who only emphasized responsibility for the family', ① Lee Seung-gi had economic criminals Gyeon Mi-ri and Lee Hong-heon as his father-in-law and mother-in-law, ② Over 300,000 people became victims due to Gyeon Mi-ri and his wife's stock manipulation, and Lee also made an extreme choice. ③ It was reported to the effect that all of these events were entirely planned by Gyeon Mi-ri and her new husband, Lee Hong-heon.
However, as a result of fact-checking, the court recognized that ① Lee Hong-heon was not guilty of any crime in relation to the 2016 stock price manipulation case, but rather was a victim of a false accusation due to the prejudice of the investigative agency, and ② Gyeon Mi-ri was also originally involved in the 2016 stock price manipulation case. There are no indictments in this regard, and nowhere in the ruling on the 2016 stock price manipulation case is there anything to the effect that Kyun Mi-ri is an accomplice in the 2016 stock price manipulation case or is even slightly involved in the crime. ③ 2016 stock price manipulation case The fact that more than 300,000 victims came forward, and that some of them made extreme choices is not a proven fact. Rather, Botabio's minority shareholders claimed that they suffered losses due to stock price manipulation by officials including Lee Hong-heon. In a lawsuit claiming damages filed against the stakeholders, including Lee Hong-heon, the court ruled that Lee Hong-heon had not manipulated stock prices in relation to Bota Bio and therefore dismissed all claims against Lee Hong-heon by Bota Bio shareholders. This has been corrected. .
This report is pursuant to the coordination of the Press Arbitration Commission.

Ryu Ye-ji, Ten Asia Reporter ryuperstar@tenasia.co.kr