The first-gen girl group Baby V.O.X, which debuted in 1997 under the label DR Music, added the then-member Lee Gai in 1998 after multiple member re-organization.
In the second year of their career, the group enjoyed domestic success leading their fans to dig more into the members' respective lives and backgrounds.
At the time, Lee Gai, who sparked skepticism for looking older than her claimed age was eventually exposed for faking her birth year. She was originally born in 1968, but she was suggested to act like a '78-liner, leading her to be expelled from the team in the same year.
Afterwards, she vanished from the music scene.
READ ALSO: 5 K-pop Idols Who Faked Their Age Before Debut: Lee Gai, K-Soul, More!
In a twist, on January 3 and 7 — more than 20 years later — Lee Gai finally broke her silence and updated on her recent status through the comments she left under a fan-run YouTube channel uploading Baby V.O.X's old clips, which was also reported by the Korean media outlet Wikitree.
Here she shared life updates and once again apologized for deceiving her fans.
"I'm living with a different name now after changing it. I've been getting calls from broadcasting companies and they've been coming to the restaurant where I used to work, so I'm currently taking a break," said Lee Gai.
"I have never lived a single day comfortably after deceiving my fans and the public. I am only talking about it now, 20 years later, but I lived without being able to say anything."
Regarding her co-Baby V.O.X members who recently reunited at the 2024 KBS Gayo Daechukje on December 20, the supposed eldest member expressed her love to them, even after many years had passed. However, she also confirmed they are not in contact anymore due to her deep guilt.
"Seeing my friends standing prettily on stage made me think of the old days for a moment. The members held me crying and told me not to leave, but I have my conscience and couldn't contact them anymore," she said.
In a comment, she explained her side for faking her age and pointed out the label as the mastermind of the whole lie.
"I originally started training with the goal of being the female version of Roo'ra, but things changed when I got seriously injured while dancing," she said.
"After that, my agency's CEO tried to persuade me to lie about my age, saying, 'You look twenty to other people. Everyone lies about their age. How many years are you going to be active for?' and pressured me to fake my age."
"Just like the saying goes, don't try to cover the whole sky with just the palm of your hand, I ended up getting caught and leaving the group. I was completely fooled by the promise of making a lot of money, and I did something foolish by deceiving my fan club and the public."
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