Lee Gai (이가이), formerly known as Lee Jisoo (이지수) and Lee Heejung (이희정), is a retired South Korean singer. She is a former member of the girl groups Baby V.O.X, TAMTAM and Settorae.
She made her solo debut sometime in March 1993 with the album To You Who Has Forgotten Me.
Career[]
1987–1989: Settorae[]
Then known by her birth name, Lee Heejung, she became a member of the three-member girl group Settorae formed through the agency Q Production. She officially debuted with them in 1988 with the studio album Settorae 1st Album. Upon debut, the girl group was popular and their concept was novel due to its exploration of Western music genres and Western girl group concepts. Settorae released one more studio album in 1989, Settorae 2nd Album.
Unfortunately, after activities for the second album ended, the girl group disbanded due to the three members having different aspirations for their futures. Though ultimately, Settorae created a future legacy for modern South Korean girl groups and it can be said that Lee Gai is a part of it.
1990–1991: TAMTAM[]
After the disbandment of Settorae, she along with fellow Settorae member Woo Yunah joined the agency City Music. The two formed the female duo TAMTAM under new stage names; with Heejung as Lee Jisoo and Yunah as Kang Hyunji. They released only one studio album in 1991, the self-titled TAMTAM 1st Album. Soon after its release, TAMTAM disbanded due to unknown reasons and saw Yunah/Hyunji retiring from the entertainment industry. Thus, her time with TAMTAM was very short-lived and mostly forgotten.
1993–1994: Solo debut[]
In 1993, still as Lee Jisoo, she was invited to join Deungryong Planning (later known as DR Music) by its CEO whom regretted her talent being unrecognised. Under his agency, she got to make her debut as a soloist singer and released her first studio album To You Who Has Forgotten Me. The following year in 1994, she got to release her second studio album Letting You Go. Afterwards, it appeared that she had chosen to retire from the entertainment industry, likely due to her fruitless debut that remained unknown, and she was also approaching her 30s which was considered too old for idols.
1997–1999: Baby V.O.X and the Lee Gai scandal[]
Five years later, in January 1999, it was shockingly discovered that she did not in fact retire, but returned to music once again, this time as member 'Lee Gai' of DR Music's girl group Baby V.O.X; she had gained a new identity under a false name and her birth year was forged to be 1979 in order for the agency to debut with the members who were all young women between the ages of 20 and 22.
Originally, as Lee Gai, she was part of Baby V.O.X's first generation and was supposed to debut with them in 1997, however, she had to involuntarily withdraw due to an injury which required surgery. Hence, she was replaced by Kim E-Z. However, due to the several member line-up changes of Baby V.O.X after their debut, she was brought back to the girl group and allowed to rejoin them in September 1998 for the release of their second studio album Baby V.O.X II.
From the beginning during her first appearance with the girl group, there were fan speculations and suspicions that Lee Gai was older that claimed as she looked more mature in the face than the other members, lacked energy and made frequent choreography mistakes when performing. Over time, these suspicions accumulated and it was also noted that Lee Gai's appearance and voice seemed familiar to some fans. Only four months after her addition, in January 1999, due to the rise of the internet and archiving of recordings, videos, images and music, the speculations were confirmed when a fan exposed Lee Gai's real identity as Lee Jisoo (Lee Heejung), the soloist singer who previously debuted with the agency in 1993.
The discovery of the affairs were considered scandalous and it was extensively reported on by news outlets. As negative public criticism grew over the Lee Gai affair, DR Music eventually was forced to admit that Lee Gai was indeed Lee Jisoo (Lee Heejung) and that her age was falsified to make her younger to allow her to debut with younger women - her real birth year being 1968 and real age being 31-years-old at the time.
At the time, Lee Gai disclosed that her reasons for allowing DR Music to re-debut her under a false identity and age were because CEO Yoon Deung Ryong did not wish to let her talent go and he needed a good leader for Baby V.O.X, and that she had no choice but to work to earn money for her ill father's hospital expenses. Nonetheless, DR Music pushed the responsibility of the scandal to Lee Gai, forcing her to withdrawal from Baby V.O.X and deal with the backlash. Lee Gai was given an extremely negative image due to the fact that in South Korean society, age plays into a person's image and to deceive fans by pretending to be too young was a severely immoral act.
Aftermath[]
Ultimately, the scandal forced Lee Gai to entirely retire from the entertainment industry and to lay-low to avoid bringing attention to herself in society.[n 1]
In 2025, Lee Gai updated fans through the comments of a YouTube channel dedicated to the group, where she mentioned that she is now living under a different identity and has recently started taking a break from work as a result of broadcasters reaching out and visiting her place of work.
Personal life[]
Health & Family[]
During her time as a trainee before Baby V.O.X's debut, Lee Gai suffered an a leg fracture while doing a difficult choreography; the injury required surgery.
After the events of the scandal, it was reported that she suffered from extreme depression and lived in seclusion for some years.
Sometime in the mid to late 2000's, she married her first husband with who she had two daughters and appeared to be living a normal life. However, she divorced said husband after discovering his affair, additionally her mother had passed away around the same time.
In order to help deal with her severe long-standing depression, she joined a mountaineering club where she met her second husband. She continues living a secluded life at the mountaineering club with her husband to this day.
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
- To You Who Has Forgotten Me (1993)
- Letting You Go (1994)
Trivia[]
- Her favourite perfume is the Giò Giorgio Armani.
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- ↑ More information not suitable for entry into her career history is needed to understands this situation fully for an English reader: in the 1990's in South Korea, a 31-year-old had a different social perception compared to a 31-year-old in the 2020's. In the 2020's, a 31-year-old is around where one is just starting to establish oneself or is just beginning to step into society as a newly-fully mature adult, while 31-year-olds in the 1990's were considered the age where one would have already establish themselves in society and had their own families and children. There are several societal and economic factors behind this, but ultimately, the 1990's 31-year-old can be considered the same as being in their early 40s in the 2020's. This alone makes the age gap between Lee Gai and the other members all the more significant and extremely inappropriate in all contexts, not just within the views of fans and the Korean entertainment industry.
References[]
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