Lee Soo-geun

Lee Soo-geun (Korean: 이수근; born February 10, 1975) is a South Korean comedian^[1] who has worked on a number of comedy shows on South Korean television. He began his career as a comedian on KBS Gag Concert.

In this Korean name, the family name is Lee.

Lee Soo-geun
Lee in 2017
Birth name	Lee Soo-geun
Born	(1975-02-10) February 10, 1975 (age 49) Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
Medium	Stand-up comedy, television, master of ceremonies
Nationality	South Korean
Years active	1996–2013 2015–Present
Genres	Comedy
Spouse	Park Ji-yeon (m. 2008)
Children	2
Notable works and roles	2 Days & 1 Night Gag Concert Knowing Bros New Journey to the West Kang's Kitchen Player 7
Korean name
Hangul	이수근
Hanja	李壽根
Revised Romanization	I Su-geun
McCune–Reischauer	I Sugŭn

Career

Before entering the entertainment industry, Lee worked as a recreational instructor,^[2] and entered a singing contest on MBC's River Music Festival (강변가요제). He was also an aerobics instructor. In October 2006, he began his own online internet shopping mall, selling clothes. In May 2008, he became an ambassador for the Pork Management Committee (양돈 자조금 관리위원회 홍보대사)

Lee has appeared on many reality-variety shows. He made a breakthrough in his career after appearing on KBS' Happy Sunday: 1 Night 2 Days. 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, along with Kim Byung-man, immediately after fellow national MC Kang Ho-dong and Shin Dong-yup joined.^[3][4]

In December 2015, he reunited with Kang Ho-dong as a cast member for JTBC's new variety show, Knowing Bros.^[5][6]

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.^[7]

In 2024, he left SM C&C and joined BPM entertainment.^[8]

Personal life

Lee married Park Ji-yeon in 2008. They have 2 sons from their marriage, Lee Tae-joon and Lee Tae-seo.^[9] Lee's mother is a shaman.^[10]

He is a Taekwondo black belt (he is currently a 5th dan black belt in Taekwondo and has demonstrated his skills on various variety shows such as Guesthouse Daughters and Knowing Bros).^[11]

Controversies

In 2013, Lee was under the investigation for suspicion of online illegal gambling along with Tony An, Tak Jae-hoon, Andy Lee & 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 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 US$370,000 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.^[12] 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."^[13]

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

Main article: Lee Soo-geun filmography

Year	Title
2015–present	Knowing Bros
2018–present	Lee Soo Geun's Channel
2019–present	Ask Us Anything Fortune Teller
2021–present	The Girls Who Hit Goals
	My Neighborhood Class
2022	Daughter Thieves[14]
2022–present	Fantastic Family[15]
2022	Trust Me and Follow Me, Urban Fishermen 4[16]
2022	Extreme Beginner[17]
2022	Hanbly[18]
2023	City Sashimi Restaurant[19]

Awards

Year	Award Show	Award
2006	KBS Entertainment Awards	Excellent Corner Award for Comedy Division
2007	KBS Entertainment Awards	Best Entertainer's Award (Men Division)
2008	KBS Entertainment Awards	New Male MC Award (Variety Show Division)
	15th Korea Entertainment Awards	Comedian Award
2009	KBS Entertainment Awards	Male MC Award (Variety Show Division)
2010	Mnet 20's Choice Awards	Mnet 20's Choice 20th Most influential star
	The 11th Korea Visual Arts Competition	Portfolio Award
	KBS Entertainment Awards	Excellence Award (Variety Show Division)
2011	Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Male Variety Performer
	23rd Korea PD Awards	Comedian Award
	The 38th Korea Broadcasting Awards	Personal Comedy Division
	KBS Entertainment Awards	Top Excellence Award
	KBS Entertainment Awards	Entertainment Daesang - 1N2D team members
2012	3rd Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards	Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism citation
2016	The 10th Cable TV Broadcasting	Popular Star - as MC of Juk-bang Legend (죽방전설)
2019	Brand Of The Year Awards	Male Variety Star
2021	SBS Entertainment Awards	Best Couple Award with Bae Sung-jae – Kick A Goal[20]

Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Forbes	2010	Korea Power Celebrity	39th	[21]
	2020		8th	[22]

References

1. Jeong-hyun, Ryu (10 December 2010). "Celebrities say age-gap makes no difference in planning marriage". Korea Herald. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
2. "Knowing Brother: Episode 84". Kshow123. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
3. Ho, Stewart (September 19, 2012). "Lee Su Geun, Kim Byung Man Join Kang Ho Dong at SM C&C". Mwave. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
4. "Jang Dong Gun, Kim Ha Neul, Han Ji Min, Lee Soo Geun, Kim Byung Man, and more become part of SM Entertainment's SM C&C". Allkpop. September 19, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
5. Yoon, Dong Won. "'아는 형님' 강호동 이수근 민경훈 출연확정…12월을 수놓는 8인의 별들!". Retrieved 2016-05-15.
6. Chae, Sun Ah. "강호동 '아는형님' 출연확정, 이수근도 끌고 간다…어떤 예능일까?". Retrieved 2016-05-15.
7. "SM Entertainment". www.smentertainment.com (in Korean). 2 January 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
8. "[단독] 이수근, 강호동 품 떠나 10년만에 빅플래닛으로 이적". 일간스포츠 (in Korean). 2024-03-05. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
9. "GET TO KNOW COMEDIAN AND ENTERTAINER, LEE SOO-GEUN: PROFILE, FAMILY, REALITY AND VARIETY SHOW APPEARANCES". channel-korea.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
10. "Lee Soo Geun sheds tears opening up about his mother". Allkpop. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
11. "GET TO KNOW COMEDIAN AND ENTERTAINER, LEE SOO-GEUN: PROFILE, FAMILY, REALITY AND VARIETY SHOW APPEARANCES". channel-korea.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
12. Son, Angela (December 7, 2013). "Lee Soo Geun, Taek Jae Hoon, Tony Ahn Charged With 1 Year In Prison". KDramaStars. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
13. "Lee Soo-geun's return show". 15 June 2015.
14. Choi Ji-yoon (March 6, 2022). "결혼 4개월차 장동민, 장인과 일상 공개…'딸도둑들" [Dong-min Jang, 4 months after marriage, reveals daily life with his father-in-law... 'Daughter Thieves] (in Korean). Newsis. Retrieved March 6, 2022 – via Naver.
15. Lee Min-ji (March 21, 2022). "판타스틱패밀리' 정규 시즌 확정 "5월 중 첫방송"[공식]" [Fantastic Family’ regular season confirmed “First broadcast in May” [Official]] (in Korean). Newsen. Retrieved March 21, 2022 – via Naver.
16. Park Ah-reum (July 6, 2022). "도시어부4' 김준현 빠졌나? 반년 재충전 끝 컴백[공식]" [Urban Fisherman 4' Kim Jun-hyun missing? Comeback after half a year of recharge [Official]] (in Korean). Newsen. Retrieved July 6, 2022 – via Naver.
17. Jeong Hee-yeon (July 18, 2022). "극한초보' 26일 첫방…이수근→카진성 메인 포스터 공개" [First episode of 'Extreme Beginner' on the 26th... Lee Soo-geun → Kajin-seong main poster released] (in Korean). Sports Donga. Retrieved July 18, 2022 – via Naver.
18. Jang Woo-young (September 21, 2022). "국민 드라이버' 이수근 vs '매너운전 달인' 규현, 자강두천 대결 ('한블리')" [National Driver' Lee Su-geun vs 'Manner Driving Master' Kyu-hyun, Jagang Ducheon confrontation ('Hanbli')] (in Korean). Osen. Retrieved September 21, 2022 – via Naver.
19. Ahn, Tae-hyun (March 13, 2023). "'도시어부'들이 여는 '도시횟집', 23일 첫방 확정…메인포스터 공개" ['Urban raw fish restaurant' opened by 'city fishermen', confirmed for the first time on the 23rd... The main poster released] (in Korean). News1. Retrieved March 13, 2023 – via Naver.
20. Oh Yoon-joo (December 18, 2021). "이수근X배성재, 베스트 커플상 "영원하자"→"♥아내 이해할 것" [2021 SBS 연예대상]" [Lee Soo-geun X Bae Seong-jae, Best Couple Award "Let's be forever" → "♥ My wife will understand" [2021 SBS Entertainment Awards]] (in Korean). My Daily. Retrieved December 18, 2021 – via Naver.
21. "Celebrity List". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). February 23, 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2021 – via Joins.
22. Kim, Min-soo; Shin, Yoon-ae (April 23, 2020). 2020 포브스코리아 선정 파워 셀럽 40 [40 Power Celebrities selected by Forbes Korea 2020]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 4, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2021 – via Joins.

External links

• 이수근 (Lee So Geun) on Cyworld (in Korean)

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Shin Bong-sun	KBS Entertainment Awards for Best Male MC 2009 2010	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Han Seok-joon	KBS Entertainment Awards for Best Newcomer MC 2008	Succeeded by Jun Hyun-moo
Preceded by Kim Jong-min	KBS Entertainment Awards for Best Entertainer 2007	Succeeded by Kim Sung-min Kim Tae-won Lee Ha-neul