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Actor Lee Yi-kyung 'lewd chat' images fabricated, online accuser says uploads were 'a joke'

Published: 22 Oct. 2025, 11:11 Updated: 23 Oct. 2025, 19:45

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

Actor Lee Yi-kyung speaks at a press conference in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Jan. 15. [NEWS1]

The online user who had alleged that actor Lee Yi-kyung sent her sexually explicit messages said Wednesday she fabricated the text exchanges, saying the images were created using AI.

The user, who claims to be a German woman, said she started uploading the posts "as a joke" but that she started to believe in her own claims as she "continued to leave posts and use AI photos."

"I’m truly sorry for spreading malicious rumors about actor Yi-kyung," the user said.

"It started with me simply admiring [Lee] as a fan, but over time I found myself getting emotionally involved," the user added.

The self-claimed German national said she will "take responsibility if there is any part of the [rumor spreading] that I'm responsible for."

The confession comes after the user had uploaded on her blog on Monday messages of a sexual nature alleged to have been sent from Lee, and doubled down on their authenticity the next day after the actor's agency refuted the blogger's assertions.

The messages showed a sender asking for photos of body parts and using expletives. The images were widely circulated on social media after they were uploaded.

Lee's agency, Sangyoung ENT, said in a statement shortly after the first post that it will take legal action “against lies and malicious rumors that are spreading online."

"We will be taking all measures possible, depending on the gravity of the situation and both the direct and indirect damages inflicted by the disruption,” the agency said.

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]