Lee Sang-soon. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]
Lee Sang-soon. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]

Broadcaster Seo Jeong-hee has revealed that she has been living with vagal dysfunction — the same condition recently disclosed by singer and guitarist Lee Sang-soon — for the past 50 years.

Seo wrote on her Instagram account Monday that she frequently collapsed during middle school. "Back then I had severe anemia and often fainted on my way to school," she said.

"After I grew up, the anemia was gone, but I would collapse once or twice a year — sometimes more — for no reason at all," she wrote. "One day I fainted while taking a half-body bath and chipped a tooth."

She added that she has no memory of the one to two minutes surrounding each episode. "When I open my eyes, I have no idea what happened — I only know that I'm lying on the floor," she said. "That has repeated itself for 50 years. Doctors just told me to rest."

Seo said it was someone she called "Dongju" who finally gave her condition a name. "Going through the symptoms one by one, he eventually put a name to what my body had been doing — vagal dysfunction," she wrote.

She said that on Monday, Dongju sent her a news article about Lee Sang-soon describing symptoms similar to her own.

"I read the article and thought about it for a long time. I was not the only one," she wrote. "Something about my body that I alone could not understand for 50 years was apparently showing up the same way in someone else."

Seo said she now pays close attention to even the smallest signals her body sends her.

"If my vision blurs, I stop walking. If I break into a sweat, I stop moving. If nausea hits and my body goes weak, I lie down without question — lying down before I fall, putting myself somewhere safe before I can hit something and get hurt," she wrote. "That is the most realistic prescription I can give myself right now."

Lee Sang-soon: 'I will take enough time to fully recover'

Meanwhile, Lee Sang-soon has suspended his activities, including hosting a radio program, after being diagnosed with vagal dysfunction.

His agency Antenna said on its Instagram account Sunday that Lee had recently received hospital treatment following a sudden decline in his condition. "On the advice of medical staff that he needs rest due to vagal dysfunction, he is currently taking a break from hosting his radio show," the agency said.

Antenna said it would actively support Lee so he could focus entirely on his recovery, adding that his future schedule would be adjusted flexibly based on his overall condition.

The agency said it would do its best to ensure Lee could return in good health.

Lee also posted on his own Instagram account, saying that doctors told him gradual recovery was possible with sufficient rest. "I will take this opportunity to spend enough time getting my health back properly," he wrote. "I will check my overall physical condition thoroughly and make sure I am fully recovered before I return."


yul@heraldcorp.com