Lee Know Health, Military, and Relationship Facts

Real name: Lee Min-ho · Birth date: October 25, 1998 · Height: 180 cm (5’11”) · Position: Lead dancer, vocalist · Group: Stray Kids · Recent donation: 100 million won ($52,000) to Nepal flood relief

Six data points, one pattern: biography is settled, timing is not.

What is Lee Know diagnosed with?

Lee Know’s health history entered the public record in 2021, when JYP Entertainment announced he would pause Stray Kids activities for treatment and recovery. The agency’s statement was brief, and a full diagnosis was never part of it.

What medical condition has Lee Know been diagnosed with?

• The only publicly documented procedure in his career is herniated disc surgery, performed in 2021 (Australia Voice, a fan-facing profile site).
• JYP Entertainment announced a hiatus so Lee Know could focus on treatment, without detailing the condition behind it (Australia Voice).
• The exact diagnosis was never officially disclosed; some profile coverage has described the period as anxiety-related, without agency confirmation (Newsmatter.uk, a health and military profile blog).

How has the diagnosis affected his career?

• Lee Know stepped back from group schedules in 2021 and was performing and touring again by early 2022 (Australia Voice).
• The 2025 MAMA Awards ankle sprain later revived health questions, but reports described it as a separate, minor incident (Oreate AI Blog, an entertainment blog).

The implication: the 2021 surgery is the only fully documented health event in Lee Know’s public record, and the agency’s silence on the diagnosis has left a gap that speculation keeps filling.

Will Lee Know go to the military?

South Korea’s mandatory military service applies to male citizens, and nothing in the reviewed record suggests Lee Know is an exception. The open question is scheduling, not obligation.

When is Lee Know’s expected military enlistment?

• Lee Know is first in line among Stray Kids’ Korean members for military duty, according to Music Mundial, an international music outlet.
• Lee Know told STARNEWS, a Korean entertainment outlet, the group plans to reunite after the military service period ends.
• Music Mundial also reports the members have not discussed the exact timing in deep detail (Music Mundial).
• No official enlistment date has been confirmed by JYP Entertainment or any other source (Newsmatter.uk).

Are there any exemptions?

• The reviewed reports contain no mention of an exemption or alternative-service arrangement for Lee Know.
• The 2025 ankle sprain was not expected to affect his long-term military eligibility, according to Newsmatter.uk.

What this means: enlistment is a when, not an if. The only variables left are the exact date and how much Stray Kids activity JYP Entertainment compresses before the service window opens.

Is Lee Know in a relationship?

Of all the questions surrounding Lee Know, this one has the least public data and the most online noise. The reviewed record is consistent: no relationship has been confirmed.

Has Lee Know ever confirmed a relationship?

• Lee Know has not publicly confirmed a relationship in any interview, statement, or profile reviewed for this article (Australia Voice, a fan-facing profile site).
• Profile coverage consistently describes his private life as guarded (Australia Voice).

What are fans speculating?

• Dating rumors circulate in fan spaces periodically, but none of the reviewed reports include evidence or an agency comment backing them (Australia Voice).
• Fans analyze his public appearances and group content for clues, a pattern typical of K-pop fandoms generally.

The trade-off: a guarded personal life protects Lee Know’s privacy, but it also means any rare glimpse of his personal life gets amplified into a headline. That dynamic is unlikely to change as enlistment makes him more talked-about, not less.

What happened to Stray Kids Lee Know?

Search recent Lee Know news expecting a scandal and you’ll come up empty. The actual record is a major donation, a candid military interview, and a routine stage injury.

What recent events have involved Lee Know?

• In August 2026, Lee Know donated 100 million won (about $52,000) to Nepal flood relief, a contribution announced through the humanitarian organization World Help (STARNEWS, a Korean entertainment outlet).
• Stray Kids were discussing the upcoming military hiatus around the release of their mini album THIS & THAT, according to Music Mundial, an international music outlet.
• In late 2025, a fan-translated agency notice reported that Lee Know sprained his ankle during the MAMA Awards stage (X post, translated agency notice).
• None of the reviewed sources, including Kpop Wiki’s Lee Know page, document a major controversy (Kpop Wiki).

Has Lee Know faced any controversies?

• The closest thing to drama in recent coverage is the ankle sprain notice and the ongoing fan debate about his enlistment timing.
• Profile coverage focuses on his choreography, his cats, and his guarded private life — not on conflict.

The pattern: Lee Know’s public record is deliberately uneventful. A serious donation and a minor on-stage injury are the two biggest recent stories, and neither fits the scandal narrative that K-pop coverage usually chases.

Did Lee Know hurt himself?

Yes — twice in the public record. The 2021 back surgery is fully documented; the 2025 ankle sprain is not, which is where the caution comes in.

What injuries has Lee Know sustained?

• 2021: herniated disc surgery, followed by a hiatus and recovery (Australia Voice).
• 2025 MAMA Awards: reportedly sprained his ankle during the stage performance and later received a medical evaluation in South Korea, according to a fan-translated agency notice (X post, translated agency notice).
• The injury was diagnosed as an ankle sprain, and he received immediate treatment on site, per an entertainment blog’s 2026 recap (Oreate AI Blog, an entertainment blog).

How has he recovered?

• A 2026 report said the ankle sprain was not expected to affect Lee Know’s long-term military eligibility (Newsmatter.uk).
• No further health bulletins about the ankle have been published since, and no appearance cancellations tied to the injury are documented in the reviewed sources.

The catch: two health events in five years, only one with a clear medical record. The 2021 surgery is documented; the 2025 sprain rests on a fan-translated notice. That asymmetry is why health rumors around Lee Know keep circulating, even when the evidence is thin.

Key dates in Lee Know’s timeline

Four moments define the public arc of his career so far — debut, surgery, a major donation, and the enlistment question that now looms over everything.

• 2018 — Debuted with Stray Kids (Kpop Wiki, a community-run idol database).
• 2021 — Herniated disc surgery and hiatus; returned to performing by early 2022 (Australia Voice).
• August 2026 — Donated 100 million won to Nepal flood relief (STARNEWS).
• Date TBD — Military enlistment expected; no official date has been confirmed (Newsmatter.uk).

The implication: every milestone after 2021 points toward the same calendar question. When the service window opens, Stray Kids’ active lineup changes, and the group’s planned reunion depends on a date the agency has not announced.

Confirmed facts vs. what’s unclear

The gap between verified record and open questions is the entire story of Lee Know’s online presence.

Confirmed facts

• Real name Lee Min-ho; born October 25, 1998 (Kpop Wiki).
• Underwent herniated disc surgery in 2021 (Australia Voice).
• Performing and touring again by early 2022 (Australia Voice).
• Donated 100 million won ($52,000) to Nepal flood relief in August 2026 (STARNEWS).
• Has not publicly confirmed a relationship (Australia Voice).

What’s unclear

• Exact diagnosis behind the 2021 hiatus (Newsmatter.uk).
• Official military enlistment date (Newsmatter.uk).
• Relationship status beyond the absence of public confirmation (Australia Voice).
• 2025 MAMA ankle sprain details, based on a fan-translated notice rather than an official agency bulletin (X post, translated agency notice).
• Long-term health implications of the 2021 surgery beyond his return to touring (not documented in reviewed profiles).
• Whether any exemption or deferment applies (no source mentions one).

What this means: the record on Lee Know is solid on biography, thin on health, and silent on the two things fans most want to know — the enlistment date and his private life. That silence is not a scandal, but it is a void that speculation will keep filling.

What Lee Know and the agency have said

Two voices matter in his public record: Lee Know’s own comments on military service, and JYP Entertainment’s 2021 statement on his hiatus.

“Military service is a natural duty, and I will fulfill it when the time comes.”

Lee Know, as reported by STARNEWS, a Korean entertainment outlet

“We haven’t discussed the exact military timing in deep detail.”

Lee Know, as reported by Music Mundial, an international music outlet

JYP Entertainment announced that Lee Know would pause group activities to focus on treatment and recovery.

JYP Entertainment statement, 2021, as reported by Australia Voice

Why this matters: Lee Know’s own comments are consistent — enlistment is inevitable, and the details stay private. The agency’s 2021 statement set the same tone: brief, careful, and silent on the specifics.

Lee Know enters the next phase of his career with a cleaner record than most idols his age: one documented surgery, one minor stage injury, a substantial humanitarian donation, and no scandals. For JYP Entertainment, the real decision is sequencing. The group has already signaled that military service is coming and that a reunion is planned; the company can set the calendar early and let fans plan around it, or let the enlistment process force a rushed reshuffle that interrupts the momentum around THIS & THAT. For fans, the implication is equally concrete: the current group era is finite, so the time to see Stray Kids in this exact lineup is now — before a service window that Lee Know himself has already accepted.

Frequently asked questions

The pattern: most of these answers trace back to the same sources — Kpop Wiki for biography, the 2026 reports for military timing, and official channels for everything else. When a detail is missing, it is because no source has confirmed it.

Related reading

• Sam Fender: Biography, Health, Relationships, and Music Career
• Paramore Hayley Williams: Facts on Health, Relationships & Career