Joining Lee Bong-won, Cha Jun-hwan, and Kang Ji-young for a special “Running a Business Is a Piece of Cake!” episode, entertainer Hong Seok-cheon shared his reflections on the 25th anniversary of his own coming out in 2000. “I’ve been getting a lot of congratulatory messages,” he said with a smile, adding, “I thought I was invited here because of that, but it turns out it was just a coincidence.”

He then became emotional while discussing Youn Yuh-jung’s recent revelation. “When I heard about senior actress Youn Yuh-jung’s son coming out, I cried. It reminded me of my mother and what she must have felt during that time,” he said, fighting back tears. “I imagined all the emotions she went through, and I just broke down.”

Hong expressed gratitude toward the growing public support for the LGBTQ+ community, saying, “I want to sincerely thank everyone. I’m grateful that people today are more open-minded and understanding.”

Youn Yuh-jung had previously shared in an international interview that her eldest son came out in 2000. She proudly supported him and even held a wedding ceremony in New York when same-sex marriage was legalized. Her statement, “I love my son-in-law more than my son,” was widely praised.

Hong also spoke about receiving the “Pride Award” for his work in LGBTQ+ rights. “This is one of the top three awards in my life,” he noted, humorously ranking it behind his College Comedy bronze medal and being named a “Young Hero of Asia” by Time magazine. Host Kim Gura praised him, calling him “a rock and an inspiration” for the LGBTQ+ community.

During the episode, Hong also shared updates on his celebrity talk series Treasure Box, naming stars like Kim Woo-bin, Song Seung-heon, and RIIZE as past guests. He singled out Choo Young-woo as the most memorable, praising his performance in The Tale of Lady Ok and joking about once being close friends with Choo’s father, model Choo Seung-il.

As for future guests, Hong revealed he’s lined up Lee Jong-suk, with whom he shares a gym, and is still working on convincing G-Dragon to appear. “He plays hard-to-get, so I’m doing the same,” he joked. On whether he’d ever go public with a relationship, Hong concluded, “If my partner agrees, why not? I didn’t come out just to hide.”