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| A scene from KBS reality show "2 Days & 1 Night" / Courtesy of KBS |
By Park Jin-hai
The long-running KBS reality show "2 Days & 1 Night" has been hit by the worst crisis in its 12-year-long broadcasting history.
The show has halted its production and broadcasting following one of its cast member's Jung Joon-young's being accused of illicitly recording and sharing sex videos online.
If that is not enough, the show has faced requests from viewers for the show to be ended for good, citing the production crew's chronic moral hazard problems.
K-pop singer Jung's case surfaced for the first time, when Seungri of K-pop act BIGBANG was interrogated for his involvement in a snow-balling sex and drug scandal at local nightclub Burning Sun the latter has taken a part in running. Jung and Seungri's agencies axed the two controversial K-pop stars.
KBS, taking responsibility, announced on Friday that the show has been replaced for the time being. "For the two episodes that we've finished filming with Jung, I previously considered editing Jung's part and broadcasting it. But because of the seriousness of the issue, we decided to stop producing and broadcasting the show for the time being."
KBS recently has been under fire for its past decision in 2017 to allow Jung to rejoin the show in just three months, after he temporarily left the show in October 2016 over allegations that he secretly took pictures of his ex-girlfriend's body without her consent.
Upon the court ruling that cleared Jung of suspicion, the show was accused of having allowed Jung's return hastily without an adequate self-screening process, which made him eventually repeat the same crime in the following years.
To make matters worse, two additional members of the show, Kim Jun-ho and Cha Tae-hyun, were reported on Saturday to have allegedly shared proof of their gambling a few million won in their golf games through text messages in the "2 Days & 1 Night" group chat three years ago, which were obtained through Jung's phone.
Cha in a statement through his agency Blossom Entertainment said, "Contrary to what was said in the reports, I did not golf abroad. We golfed together in Korea, thinking it was a fun game, and I returned the money immediately at the time."
But, the report further angered the viewers as production crew, also included in the group chat, turned a blind eye.
"Now it's a gambling case. The show must end," a viewer posted a comment, while another viewer said, "How can we expect the production crew, who turned a blind eye to illegal gambling, to censor cast members?"
Experts say the show is facing its biggest crisis.
Ha Jae-geun, a culture critic, said, "On top of Jung's scandal, fresh allegations yet again worsened viewers' already negative opinions. I think the show should be shut down or rebranded and re-launched with a new cast and production crew."
