Ko Ji-yong is returning to the stage as a member of Sechs Kies, more than two decades after the first-generation idol group disbanded, with a two-night concert set for December at Incheon’s Inspire Arena.
According to Mountain Movement Story, as reported by NewsEn on October 30, Ko will join fellow members Jang Su-won and Lee Jae-jin for “THE TREE in INSPIRE - Sechs Kies’ Untold Story” on December 15 and 16, with both shows starting at 6 p.m. The concerts are being staged ahead of the group’s 30th anniversary next year, and the three members are expected to perform and talk with fans.
Notably absent are Eun Ji-won and Kim Jae-duck, while Kang Sung-hoon, who previously left the group, will also not take part. The report gave no reason for Eun’s and Kim’s absence, leaving the December shows as a three-member reunion rather than a full-group gathering.
Ko’s appearance is the headline in itself. After Sechs Kies disbanded in 2000, Ko left the entertainment industry and focused on business. When the group reunited through MBC’s “Infinite Challenge” in 2016, he made only a surprise appearance on a single stage and did not resume activities, making this his first sustained return to the Sechs Kies stage in 25 years.
The announcement comes as Ko remains in a public dispute with his ex-wife, family medicine doctor Heo Yang-im. The pair married in 2013 and divorced in April 2024, a split disclosed only later. Ko’s side has filed for an injunction barring Heo from obstructing visitation and from posting photos and videos of their son, saying that despite his stated willingness to pay child support regularly, meetings with his son have not taken place, and raising concerns about their son being used in hospital promotion.
Heo has pushed back, saying no separate agreement on regular visitation was made at the time of the divorce and that she was the one who first petitioned the court for a visitation ruling. “I will faithfully proceed with visitation in accordance with the court’s decision,” she said in an earlier update on the case.
No official statement was available from Eun Ji-won or Kim Jae-duck about their absence. For now, the focus is on Ko’s long-awaited return: a founding member stepping back into the group that made him famous, on a stage built around the stories Sechs Kies never got to tell.
