FNC Entertainment has stepped out to clarify that the controversy over the apparent favouritism displayed towards CNBLUE over F.T Island as a “misunderstanding”. The issue stemmed from its CEO’s remarks that were made on variety show Radio Star.
On the Feb 4 episode of the variety show, FNC’s CEO, together with three of its artistes, CNBLUE’s Yonghwa and actors Park Gwang Hyun and Sung Hyuk. On the show, CEO Han Sung Ho was asked if CNBLUE or F.T Island brought in more profits, to which he chose the former.
He added that although F.T Island has contributed a lot to the company and has allowed its continued existence to this day, CNBLUE has eclipsed their contributions and bring in a lot of income from their overseas activities.
CEO Han also added that he has been encouraging Yonghwa to date, sharing that he has been extremely careful since his debut and added that F.T Island’s Honggi has acted out against the company’s wishes on numerous occasions.
In response, Honggi updated his personal account with, “I see… I want to go on Radio Star as well once I have my comeback. Call me please, producers and writers”. The tweet has been perceived as cryptic by some and fans have rallied behind Honggi, calling for him to call his CEO out for his misdeeds.
In response, FNC issued an official statement today (Feb 5), explaining that the comments were made in the spirit of variety and that the entire situation is a misunderstanding. They added that Honggi and Yonghwa are both musicians that the CEO personally loves and that they hope that further misunderstandings will not be caused by his remarks.
Radio Star is hosted by Kim Gu Ra, Yoon Jong Shin, Kim Gook Jin and Super Junior’s Kyuhyun.