Lee Soo-geun (; born February 10, 1975) is a South Korean

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

who has worked on a number of

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

shows on South Korean

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. He began his career as a comedian on KBS '' Gag Concert''.

Career

Before entering the entertainment industry, Lee worked as a recreational instructor, and entered a singing contest on MBC's ''River Music Festival'' (). He was also an

aerobics Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness (Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, Muscle, muscular strength, and ...

instructor. In October 2006, he began his own online internet shopping mall, selling clothes. In May 2008, he became an

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

for the Pork Management Committee () Lee has appeared on many

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

shows. He made a breakthrough in his career after appearing on KBS' ''

Happy Sunday ''Happy Sunday'' () is a Korean reality-variety show shown on the KBS2 network, which competes directly against MBC's '' Sunday Night'' and SBS's '' Good Sunday'' line-up. Although it has been broadcast since 2003, its line-up of shows has freq ...

'': ''

1 Night 2 Days ''2 Days & 1 Night'' (; also known as ''1 Night 2 Days''; abbreviated as ''1N2D'') is a South Korean reality-variety show that airs every Sunday at 6:10pm KST on KBS2 beginning August 5, 2007. ''1 Night 2 Days'' used to be one of the two segmen ...

''. He was seen as the most hardworking member of the cast and was in charge of driving in the show, as he had a commercial coach license. After appearing on the show, he earned more recognition and was offered MC roles on other shows, such as season 2 of ''Sang Sang Plus'', his first TV appearance in the role of an MC. His marriage was broadcast on national television on ''1 Night 2 Days''. Up until 2012, he was signed under ''Castle J Entertainment'', and on September 19, it was announced that he had signed exclusive contracts with SM C&C, a subsidiary of

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1995 by Lee Soo-man. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies and has been responsible for fostering and popularizing the car ...

, along with Kim Byung-man, immediately after fellow national MC Kang Ho-dong and Shin Dong-yup joined. In December 2015, he reunited with Kang Ho-dong as a cast member for

JTBC JTBC (shortened from Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company; ; stylized in all lowercase) is a South Korean nationwide pay television network. Its primary shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, with a 25% stake. It was launched on December 1, ...

's new variety show, ''

Knowing Bros ''Knowing Bros'' (), also known as ''Men on a Mission'' or ''Ask Us Anything'', is a South Korean Television comedy, television entertainment program produced by SM Culture & Contents, SM C&C that premiered on December 5, 2015, and currently ai ...

''. In 2017, Lee Soo-geun appeared in more than ten programs over the course of a year and showed his unique charm in various programs. In 2024, he left SM C&C and joined BPM Entertainment.

Personal life

Lee married Park Ji-yeon in 2008. They have 2 sons from their marriage, Lee Tae-joon and Lee Tae-seo. Lee's mother is a

shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

. He is a

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

black belt (he is currently a 5th dan black belt in Taekwondo and has demonstrated his skills on various

variety shows Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compè ...

such as ''Guesthouse Daughters'' and ''

'').

Controversies

In 2013, Lee was under the investigation for suspicion of online illegal gambling along with Tony An,

Tak Jae-hoon Bae Sung-woo (; born 24 July 1968), better known by his stage name Tak Jae-hoon (), is a South Korean singer, actor and entertainer. He first became known for being part of K-pop K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a fo ...

Andy Lee Andy Lee may refer to: __NOTOC__ Sportspeople * Andy Lee (American football) (born 1982), American football punter * Andy Lee (boxer) (born 1984), Irish boxer * Andy Lee (footballer, born 1982), English footballer for Bradford City * Andy Lee (footb ...

& Boom. Lee was involved in an illegal sports gambling scandal, in which he placed bets on the results of top division football teams in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

by using an illegal online gambling website and cell phone text messages. Lee has claimed to have bet billions of Korean won on online sports betting websites. As a result of researching his gambling activities, Lee Soo-geun was found to have gambled using from December 2008 to June 2011. In the first public trial on the morning of December 6, 2013, Judge Shin Myung-hee of the Seoul Central Prosecutor's Office charged Lee Soo Geun with eight months in prison and two years of probation. Lee Soo Geun, who appeared in the first public trial with his lawyer, repeatedly acknowledged his crime and begged for mercy. After two years of self-restraint time at home, he returned with billiards competition show "Juk-bang Legend". Before filming the first episode of the show, Lee said "I will restart as if it is my first time."

Discography

* 2020: "SWAG" (ft. Chin Chilla and Jiselle) - '' Show Me The Play 2 Final'' * 2019: "White Winter" (with. Kim Hee-chul) - '' STATION X 4 LOVEs for Winter Part.3'' * 2010: "Huk" (ft. Eun Jiwon) * 2009: "Happy Song" (ft. Ez-Life) * 2009: "Let's Keep Going Until the End" (ft. Eun Jiwon)

Filmography

Awards

Listicles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Soo-geun 1975 births Living people People from Yangpyeong County Gag Concert South Korean male comedians South Korean male film actors South Korean male taekwondo practitioners South Korean television personalities Best Variety Performer Male Paeksang Arts Award (television) winners