LUCY's Choi Sang-yeop Told Fans He's Getting Married. He Wrote It Himself.
Choi Sang-yeop posted a handwritten letter to fans Monday announcing he'll marry his longtime partner this August. "I am about to embark on a new chapter of life with someone I have cherished, relied on, and been with for a long time," the LUCY vocalist wrote, adding that he wanted fans to hear the news directly from him before anyone else. His agency, Mystic Story, confirmed the marriage in a separate statement the same day, noting his partner is not a public figure and asking fans to respect the couple's decision to hold the ceremony privately.
"We understand that this sudden news may have come as a surprise to many fans, and we sincerely appreciate your understanding and warm support," the agency wrote, adding that specific details of the wedding won't be shared out of consideration for his partner. Choi, 32, closed his own letter by promising the news changes nothing about his commitment to the band: "I will keep my heart for music and my sense of responsibility unchanged, and I will do my best on stage to repay you with better music and better performances."
Choi joined LUCY in 2019 after placing in the finals of JTBC's band-formation show "Superband," replacing original vocalist Lee Ju-hyuk ahead of the show's Top 3 concert. The four-piece - Choi alongside Shin Ye-chan, Jo Won-sang, and Shin Gwang-il - debuted in May 2020 with "Dear." and built a career on steadily climbing chart positions with each release, most recently placing fifth on Korea's Circle Chart with 2024's "From." LUCY has cultivated a fandom culture close to that of a K-pop idol group despite being marketed as a band, a distinction that surfaced almost immediately in the reaction to Monday's news.
Some fans online questioned whether the marriage announcement would trigger the kind of backlash idol groups typically face for member relationships, given LUCY's idol-adjacent fan management style; others pushed back, arguing the group's identity as a band should exempt members from that standard entirely. Mystic Story's statement didn't address the debate directly, framing the news purely as a personal milestone.
The timing lands three months before LUCY's next major date on the calendar: a three-day encore concert, "2026 LUCY 9th Concert 'Island,'" scheduled for October 23 to 25 at Korea University's Hwajeong Gymnasium in Seoul.
