Singer Yoo Yeol (65) has bravely opened up for the first time about his seven-year battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, including two failed lung transplant attempts and near-death cardiac arrest crises.
Appearing in a preview for the 343rd episode of tvN’s ‘You Quiz on the Block’ released on the 13th, Yoo Yeol revealed, “I fought the disease for seven years after being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2017.” He explained that it was a rare condition affecting only about 1% of patients, and during his struggle, his weight plummeted to 41kg.
“The first transplant was canceled because the donated lungs were not in good condition,” Yoo Yeol shared. He added that around the time his second transplant attempt was also canceled, he suffered the loss of his mother. He also revealed that he survived two cardiac arrest crises before and after the surgeries.
On August 1, 2024, Yoo Yeol personally wrote a will for his wife and son. In the revealed note, he wrote to his wife, “I hope this never happens, but if I go to heaven, please tell her that everything was ‘gratitude.’ I am sorry I couldn’t return the love she gave me.”
To his 12-year-old son, he left a heartbreaking message: “It hurts my heart so much that I couldn’t do many of the things I promised. I hope you cry as much as you need to and live a wonderful life.”
After three attempts, the transplant was finally a success. In July 2024, Yoo Yeol received lungs from a brain-dead donor. With tears in his eyes, he told ‘You Quiz,’ “It’s all thanks to my wife, who prayed for me day and night.”
His first return to the public wasn’t as a singer, but through his voice. On August 22 last year, he served as the narrator for the Andong Station episode of KBS’ ‘Documentary 3 Days Special Edition.’ Having narrated over 60 episodes of the program in the past, he was known as its ‘representative voice.’ Recalling the moment, he said, “I cried my eyes out after the first broadcast of my return.”
This past March, Yoo Yeol was appointed as a ‘Life Sharing Joint Ambassador’ for the National Institute of Organ, Tissue and Blood Management and the Korea Organ Donation Agency.
