After years of silence, comedian Lee Hwi Jae’s much-hyped return landed with a thud, stirring discomfort more than delight. KBS2 variety show Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend staged his comeback with a '2026 Entertainment King of Kings' special following roughly four years off the air, but the post-broadcast mood was the opposite of what producers likely hoped. Instead of a rebound, ratings slipped, while the viewer board and online communities flooded with criticism asking, "Why Lee Hwi Jae?" Any bid to win back public sentiment through a redemption arc only reaffirmed his long-standing negative image.
Lee’s gradual disappearance from television didn’t happen overnight. In 2021, family-related controversies reignited public scrutiny. Issues involving his wife Moon Jung Won’s dispute with a neighbor and an unpaid theme-park toy incident rattled public opinion, and Lee’s past on-air behavior and remarks were dredged up, stacking further negativity. He halted activities and moved to Canada with his family, effectively entering a prolonged hiatus that many viewed as a clear exit from the industry.
On Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend, Lee tried to be more than a guest, aiming to reassert the hosting instincts that were once his forte. In the '2026 Entertainment King of Kings' episodes aired March 28 and April 4, he took the stage in tears, saying, "I was lacking, I fell short, and I made mistakes." In interviews, he admitted, "After the casting news broke, there were so many malicious comments that I feel like I’m causing trouble," while sharing that his twin sons wrote him letters of support. On the April 4 broadcast, when the greenroom chatter got chaotic, he even slid into the MC seat after comedian Kim Jun Hyun to steer the flow, calling out, "Three claps—go!" The edit clearly aimed to sell a 'veteran MC returns' narrative.
But viewers read his appearance as off-putting rather than moving. From the moment teasers dropped, reactions were chilly: "Did it really have to be Lee Hwi Jae?", "People don’t change", and "I’m changing the channel". After the broadcast, criticism piled on: "Forced tears", "Handing him a comeback on a silver platter", "Producers have lost touch", and "This feels like a power struggle with the audience". Some pushed back, arguing the hate was excessive since he hadn’t committed a crime, but overall, the ire skewed even more toward the production team for forcing the comeback.
The ratings told a similar story. According to Nielsen Korea nationwide data, the March 28 episode—Lee’s first full-fledged return—hit 4.8%, up 0.7 points from March 21. But April 4 dipped to 4.7%. More concerning, the April 11 episode fell to 3.8%, an unexpectedly steep slide that marked the show’s lowest rating in its 15-year history.
Critics weren’t impressed either. Pop culture critic Jung Seok Hee slammed the Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend team on his YouTube channel, asking if this was "a provocation against viewers" and predicting Lee’s comeback would be an uphill battle. He assessed Lee’s old-school hosting style as "stuck in a bygone era" and called out the snarky, put-down humor for "lacking consideration". The key takeaway: this isn’t about one or two scandals, but a failure to evolve with the times—fatigue that built up over years and finally tipped viewers over the edge.
Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend handed Lee the mic again, but what viewers wanted wasn’t tears or nostalgia—it was a genuinely changed attitude and convincing growth. Judging by reactions so far, this comeback felt less like a fresh start and more like a reminder of why the name Lee Hwi Jae still makes many viewers uncomfortable.