Lee Ru. [OSEN]
Lee Ru. [OSEN]

Singer Lee Ru is struggling with the flu amid growing concern for his mother, who suffers from severe dementia.

Lee shared his condition on social media Wednesday, posting a photo of himself receiving an IV drip alongside the message, "When my body hurts, my mind seems to hurt too."

"This flu is really rough. I keep going back and forth between feeling okay and not," he wrote, describing a slow and difficult recovery. He said he has been isolating in his room to avoid spreading the infection and has had to stop his regular exercise routine.

With a competition scheduled for Friday, Lee said he felt "sad and depressed" that his condition had not improved in time. Alongside a photo of a meal, he added, "I'm eating just to take my medicine."

His biggest concern, however, was his mother's health. When he first announced his flu diagnosis, he wrote, "I'm more worried about my mom than myself." He also said that before he knew he was infected, he had spent several days caring for her while wearing two masks and sanitary gloves.

Lee's mother, Lee Ok-hyung — wife of singer Tae Jin-ah and the real-life subject of his signature song "Okgyeongi" — was diagnosed with dementia in 2019 and now has a severe form of the condition. Lee recently revealed on a broadcast that he had moved in with his parents to care for her more closely.

Meanwhile, Lee had stepped back from broadcasting to reflect after a series of drunk-driving incidents. He was involved in a drunk-driving case in 2022 and, in December of that year, crashed into a guardrail while speeding on Seoul's Gangbyeonbuk-ro under the influence. He was subsequently sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for one year.

Last July, he returned to the stage for the first time in a long while through a special fifth-anniversary episode of TV Chosun's "Joseon's Romantics." "It was a cautious and nerve-wracking performance," Lee said at the time. "It was meaningful to be able to show my mother my face on screen once again."


husn7@heraldcorp.com