SHINee's Key Just Broke His 6-Month Silence With a Hometown Vlog, But the Legal Story Is Still Running

SHINee's Key uploaded a hometown vlog on the 27th captioned "The Kim Family's Hometown," and the video is warm, low-key, and doing a lot of heavy lifting right now. He hops a KTX from Seoul Station to Daegu in a hat and mask, arrives at his childhood home, and eats a meal his mother made. Normal stuff. Except Key has been off the radar for roughly six months, and the reason involves an ongoing police investigation.

His mother makes a brief appearance in the video, waving at the camera with a big smile. She's a recognizable face to longtime fans: she appeared alongside Key on MBC's I Live Alone and tvN's You Quiz on the Block, where Key revealed she had worked as a head nursing officer. That detail landed well at the time. Her cameo here reads as a deliberate signal of normalcy.

What the 'jusa-imo' case actually is

The backstory is messier. Late last year, Key was caught up in what Korean media dubbed the jusa-imo ("injection aunt") scandal: a person identified only as A, who holds no domestic medical license, is alleged to have provided IV drips, injections, and prescription medications to multiple celebrities in private spaces including an officetel and a vehicle. The list of names investigated is long. Park Narae, broadcaster Jeon Hyun-moo, SHINee's Onew, and YouTuber Ipjjalbeun Haennim have all been called in by Seoul Gangnam Police Station for questioning since June, with Key among them.

Key stepped back from activities after the story broke, including leaving the tvN variety show Amazing Saturday. His position at the time: he knew A and had received treatments, but genuinely believed A was a licensed medical professional. Police have reportedly been trying to establish whether the recipients knew they were dealing with someone unlicensed, which is the detail that determines how serious the exposure is for each person involved.

Back in action ahead of SHINee's return

After about six months of keeping quiet, Key has been easing back into public view with SHINee's comeback approaching. The hometown vlog is the most visible move so far: personal, soft, and conspicuously family-forward. Whether fans read it as a genuine check-in or a careful image rehabilitation move probably depends on how much they've been following the investigation. The police inquiry hasn't wrapped, and Key's status as a suspect, rather than a witness, is still on the record.

The SHINee comeback is coming regardless. The timing of this particular vlog is what it is.