Lee Hyo-ri, Lee Sang-soon will no longer star in their own cafe

Pop star Lee Hyo-ri, left, and her husband Lee Sang-soon [JTBC]

Pop star Lee Hyo-ri and her husband Lee Sang-soon will not be present at their newly-opened cafe on Jeju Island from Thursday, following the huge crowds at the shop that forced the couple to halt its operations for four days.

The post on the official social media account of the cafe, Longplay, said that while the cafe will resume business from noon on Thursday, the celebrity couple will no longer be at their cafe during business hours.

Longplay opened last Friday, and Lee Sang-soon was seen making coffee for customers himself. Lee Hyo-ri also visited the cafe and hung out with the customers.

But as the word spread about the couple's cafe, it attracted hundreds of people, forcing the Longplay owners to implement a reservation system the next day.

“At this rate, we are concerned we might become an inconvenience to neighboring residents. We concluded that we will have to operate under a reservation system for the time being,” the couple had said.

The cafe closed on Sunday for reorganization.

Lee Hyo-ri debuted in 1998 as a member of girl group Fin.K.L. After seeing success with the girl group, she debuted as a solo artist in 2003 with her album “Stylish…” and lead track “10 Minutes.” She is known for hits "U-Go-Girl" (2008) and "Bad Girls" (2013).

She has also been a regular member on reality entertainment programs including “Family Outing” (2008-10), “Hyori’s Homestay” (2017-18) and “Camping Club” (2019). In 2020, Lee was also a member of project group SSAK3 with Rain and Yoo Jae-suk.

Lee Hyo-ri and Lee Sang-soon tied the knot in 2013 and settled down in Jeju Island, a popular vacation destination for Koreans.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]