Veteran South Korean comedian Lee Kyung-kyu has directly addressed the health rumors that have followed him for months, revealing that he has been receiving ongoing medication for panic disorder and making clear that the stroke speculation was unfounded.
The disclosure came on the October 25 episode of EBS1’s documentary program “Sidae Mokgyeok,” which devoted an installment titled “Active Lee Kyung-kyu” to his 46-year broadcasting career. Sports Chosun reported on the episode on October 26, quoting Lee’s own account of how the condition first appeared.
Lee said he developed the illness while filming. “My chest pain was so severe, but no matter which hospital I went to, tests said there was nothing wrong,” he said. He recalled his heart racing and breaking out in a cold sweat before a chance visit to a psychiatrist led to a panic disorder diagnosis.
The treatment, he stressed, is not in the past. “In fact, I still cannot stop taking the medicine. I am still being treated,” Lee said. Reflecting on aging, he added, “Physical changes cannot be helped. It seems my mind does not allow me to accept them.”
The remarks close the loop on speculation that flared in May, when viewers of his YouTube channel “God Kyung-kyu” said his speech sounded slurred and some raised the possibility of a stroke. His agency said at the time that he had only suffered a temporary condition caused by prolonged filming and that there was no problem with his health. Lee later said himself on a YouTube broadcast that a hoarse voice had changed the way he sounded, directly denying the health rumors.
That history is what gives the new episode its weight. Lee has now put a diagnosis, a treatment timeline, and his own words on the record: the frightening chest symptoms that once sent him from hospital to hospital had a psychiatric explanation, and the care that followed is still continuing.
Lee’s career spans 46 years in Korean broadcasting, a run that has made him one of the country’s most familiar variety figures. The documentary framed the disclosure as part of that long run rather than a farewell: Lee said he still wants to be in front of the camera making audiences laugh even at 80.
The message is straightforward: the stroke rumors are denied, the panic disorder treatment continues, and Lee intends to keep working through it.
