[Official] Comedian Lee Jinho leaves ”Knowing Bros” for ”illegal gambling”

Comedian Lee Jin-ho has been embroiled in an illegal gambling controversy, and the programme he is appearing on has also fallen on hard times.

On the 14th, the Netflix side referred to Lee Jin-ho's controversy, saying, "We are very sorry to receive the news the day before the release of the show."

They continued, "All the contents including Comedy Revenge are the result of the dedication and efforts of not only numerous comedians, but also hundreds of staff, producers and related parties who worked hard off-screen", and added, "Due to the programme's structure as a group team competition, editing all aspects of a specific team is not a good idea. There are structural constraints that prevent the storyline from being structured. We ask for your understanding."

On the other hand, he has decided to step down from the ‘Knowing Bros’ programme. The ‘Knowing Bros’ side said "We are withdrawing from this week's recording. The filming in which Lee Jin-ho participated will be edited to the maximum extent."

On the same day, Lee Jin-ho confessed on his SNS that he had gambled illegally in the past and said, "By chance, I started playing games on illegal internet gambling sites and ended up with unmanageable debts. The stern advice of acquaintances and the fear that I might not be able to do the work I love again brought me to my senses late and I was able to withdraw from gambling, but I had already received financial support from many people", he confided.

He added, "I am steadily paying back the money every month and I will definitely pay off this debt all by myself until I die again" and regretted, "I sincerely regret the days gone by when I forgot my true duty as a celebrity on the show and ruined it with a momentary wrong decision."

He added, "I promise to repay my remaining debts no matter what" and "I bow my head and apologise to those who were disappointed in my efforts to hide the social controversy. I will sincerely accept the police investigation and pay for the mistakes I made."

Lee Jin-ho was scheduled to attend the production launch of ‘Comedy Revenge’ on the same day, but suddenly announced that he would not be attending. At the production presentation, PD Kwon Hye-bong said, "I wish I had time to figure it out, but I heard it just before I came in’ and ‘I can't even read the text properly, so I'm still figuring it out."

He continued, "We, the production team and the people involved, didn't know the facts and are still trying to figure it out. ‘Comedy Revenge’ is a competition for 22 comedians. We hope you will focus on the programme."