Lee Seung-cheol regrets marijuana scandal that ended his mother's 43-year teaching career

Singer Lee Seung-cheol has looked back with regret on the marijuana scandals that forced him off the air decades ago — particularly the toll they took on his mother, who quit teaching after 43 years because of the incidents. He said he often wishes he could go back in a time machine and start over.

Lee reflected on his musical life during a documentary special marking his 40th debut anniversary, which aired Tuesday on KBS 2TV's "Documentary Never-Ending Lee Seung-cheol."

After rising to fame as a member of rock band Boohwal and then as a solo artist, Lee was penalized twice for marijuana use — in 1989 and 1990 — and was barred from broadcast activities for five years.

Recalling that period, Lee expressed deep remorse toward his mother. "I caused her so much heartache," he said. "She gave up her teaching career of 43 years because of me."

Lee also described the severe impact the broadcast ban had on his music career. "I was suspended from broadcast activities for about five years and couldn't even get my songs played on the radio," he said. "It took me 10 years of hardship to climb back up."

With broadcast appearances cut off, Lee turned to concerts as his way forward. "I decided to turn that difficult period into an opportunity and started a nationwide tour," he said, adding that he produced what he described as the country's first live concert video recording.

He poured exceptional effort into concert production, even channeling his acting fee from director Park Chan-wook's debut film "The Moon Is the Sun's Dream" directly into staging shows.

"I received a substantial fee, and all of it went straight into concert production costs," Lee said. "There were days I performed twice in a single day, and one year I held concerts on 200 out of 365 days." He added that it was around that time he began earning the nickname "Emperor of Live Performance."