Former MBC variety department PD Kim Jae-hwan claimed that Baek Jong-won, the CEO of The Born Korea, blocked singer Kim Ho-joong's appearance on SBS.
On the 13th, a video titled 'Baek Jong-won Arrival Scene and Exclusive Interview Revealed! Who Did Baek Jong-won Force to Leave the Show?' was uploaded to YouTube's Studio Ojaena.
In the video, former PD Kim stated, "There were widespread rumors in the broadcasting industry that Baek Jong-won blocked Kim Ho-joong, a contestant from TV Chosun's 'Mr. Trot', from appearing on SBS with just one phone call." He continued, "When I met with Baek Jong-won and asked him directly, he said, 'I was really angry too,' and explained the situation in detail."
Former PD Kim explained, "Baek Jong-won was filming SBS's 'Taste of the Place' in the cold winter and received a call from an acquaintance asking, 'Did you see Kim Ho-joong appearing on SBS?' Baek Jong-won, who had a strong attachment to SBS's 'Street Food' and was in a ratings battle with TV Chosun's 'Love Call Center', felt it was absurd to let Kim Ho-joong appear on SBS's variety show."
He added, "Baek Jong-won called the CP of SBS's variety department and said that if a contestant from 'Mr. Trot' was cast in the variety department, he would withdraw from all SBS programs." He further noted, "After that, the story spread among PDs and writers from other broadcasting companies that Baek Jong-won had used a single phone call to remove 'Mr. Trot' contestants from SBS's variety shows."
Previously, former PD Kim claimed that after gaining popularity from the MBC variety program 'My Little Television' aired in 2015, "Anyone who Baek Jong-won did not like was removed from the broadcast, and the PD apologized to the participants on his behalf." He also revealed an interview conducted unexpectedly with Baek Jong-won after he returned from filming the tvN variety program 'Business Genius Baek Sa-jang 3' in France on his YouTube channel.
[Lee Da-kyum, Star Today Reporter]
