It's not Lee Hwijae's comeback special.."Immortal" PD "Cast as one of the contestants" [a direct interview]

*This content was translated by AI.

With broadcaster Lee Hwi-jae announcing his return to broadcasting for the first time in about four years, the production team of KBS 2TV's music and entertainment program "Immortal Songs" revealed the background of the casting.

PD, who is in charge of directing "Immortal Songs," told Star News on the 5th, "I didn't target Lee Hwi-jae and pursue casting."

Producer Lee said, "We were planning a special episode of the "2026 Entertainment King's Fair" ahead of the recording on the 16th," adding, "While preparing for a concept in which various entertainers such as Cho Hye-ryeon and Hong Seok-cheon appear, we decided that it would be good for Lee Hwi-jae to join us as one of the contestants."

"I know that Lee Hwi-jae has worked on several things, including our program, to return to the program for the first time in a long time," he added. "Considering the national recognition and long career, we decided that Lee Hwi-jae's appearance would help the program, so we recruited him."

Regarding the stage that Lee Hwi-jae will perform in "Immortal Songs," he said, "We are still working on it. As one of the contestants, we will decide which song to choose, which stage to decorate, and match."

The recording will be accompanied by various stars, including Lee Hwi-jae, Cho Hye-ryeon, Hong Seok-cheon, Park Joon-hyung, Song Il-guk, Oh Man-seok, Moon Se-yoon, and Lalal's "Gag Concert" team (Park Sung-kwang, Jung Beom-gyun, Sanghoon Lee Seo Sung-kyung).

Producer Lee said, "What the cast has in common is that they are not singers, but celebrities who have released albums in the past," adding, "It's been a long time ago, and it's a point to watch when you're back on the song stage after a while."

"The concept is to set up a stage for entertainers who released an album but were not full-time singers," he said. In fact, Lee Hwi-jae released his first album "Say Good Bye" in 1995 and his second album "Blessing You" in 1997.

Regarding Lee Hwi-jae's willingness to return, the PD carefully said, "I didn't ask and confirm my intention directly, but I don't know," but added, "If I didn't have the intention to return, I don't think I would have appeared in the 'Immortal Masterpiece'." "Lee Hwi-jae would have interacted and reviewed with various programs, but it seems that the appearance was made after various judgments because we were preparing for the 'Entertainer Singer Exhibition'," he said.

Meanwhile, Lee Hwi-jae suspended his activities in the entertainment industry in 2022 with the MC of KBS 2TV entertainment information program 'Yeonjung Live'. Since then, he has been embroiled in retirement rumors as he left for Canada with his wife Moon Jung-won and two sons, Seo-eon and Seo-jun. The family is said to be living in Vancouver, Canada. The couple has not shared their updates for a while since they went to Canada, but they are drawing attention again as their wife Moon Jung-won recently resumed her SNS activities for the first time in more than four years.

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*This content was translated by AI.