[Sportschosun Reporter Baek Ji-eun] Lee Ha-neul of DJ DOC contacted Kim Changryul directly for the first time in more than two years.
On the 8th, Lee Ha-neul uploaded a video to his YouTube channel titled “Did Ha-neul Contact Changryul for the First Time in Two Years?”
In the video, Lee Ha-neul began by saying, “A younger friend I knew passed away a week ago. He was someone close to me. Since it was a period of mourning, I took about a week off from broadcasting.”
A fan asked Lee Ha-neul whether he was currently in contact with Kim Changryul. Lee Ha-neul replied, “I contacted Changryul at the funeral of the younger friend—it had been about two years. He was someone both Changryul and I knew, but I heard Changryul couldn’t answer the call and therefore didn’t come. I simply called and said, ‘This is what happened to him. Come, pour him a drink, and then leave.’ So Changryul came and went. It wasn’t something I did particularly well or badly.”
After his younger brother, 45RPM member Lee Hyun-bae, died in 2021, Lee Ha-neul angrily held Kim Changryul responsible. At the time, Lee Ha-neul claimed that Lee Hyun-bae had suffered financial difficulties after Kim Changryul withdrew from an investment plan for a guesthouse in Jeju that Kim had led. He further alleged that Lee Hyun-bae eventually took a delivery job because of his financial hardship, was involved in a traffic accident, and died after failing to receive a proper examination.
However, the doctor who performed Lee Hyun-bae’s autopsy suspected heart disease as the cause of death. The doctor’s assessment was that no fatal injuries resulting from the traffic accident had been found.
Lee Ha-neul and Kim Changryul, who had been feuding, appeared to reconcile after meeting again at Jung Jae-yong’s mother’s funeral in 2024. However, rumors of another conflict emerged in December 2025 when a year-end DJ DOC concert was held without Kim Changryul.
The conflict within DJ DOC is still ongoing. Lee Ha-neul announced a DJ DOC comeback in November, marking the group’s first return in 15 years, but Kim Changryul distanced himself, saying, “I have not been contacted.”
Baek Ji-eun, Reporter silk781220@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
