ZE:A’s Kwanghee was formally crowned as Korean variety show Infinity Challenge’s sixth man amidst allegations that the race to secure a fixed position on the highly popular variety show was rigged.
The entertainment programme, which has the highest ratings for its timeslot, is currently hosted by five men consisting of Yoo Jae Suk, Park Myeong Su, Jung Jun Ha, Jung Hyeong Don and HaHa and will see a sixth addition to the team.
The show first announced in early March that they were looking for a sixth cast member to join them after Gil and Noh Hong Chul departed. The shortlisted candidates for the show were Super Junior’s Siwon, Hong Jin Kyung, Kwanghee, Noel’s Kang Kyun Sung and Jang Dong Min.
Prior to the show’s announcement of their decision – which was reached after voting by the current five cast members – reports of Jang Dong Min emerging triumphant surfaced, which were quickly denied by both his agency and the producers of the show.
Following which, sexist and controversial comments made by the comedian in the past were brought up by the media, which included one in which he blasted his stylist for being bad at her job and wanting to “ship her intestines to her parents and make them eat it”.
The witch hunt which followed ultimately led to Jang Dong Min voluntarily bowing out of the competition. Some speculated that the past incidents were brought up purposefully by someone else who was in contention for the spot, leading many fingers to be pointed at Kwanghee due to his company’s bad reputation.
Kwanghee’s label, Star Empire Entertainment, is regarded to have caused Korean actress Lee Tae Im to withdraw from her schedules due to the severe backlash she received in an incident with Jewelry’s Yewon.
Yewon and Lee Tae Im had a confrontation while filming Tutoring Across Generations, in which initial reports claimed that the latter had an unwarranted outburst towards Yewon, cursing and swearing at her for no apparent reason.
It was later revealed through a video recording that Yewon was not as innocent as the company had painted her to be, with her speaking informally and behaving impolitely to the senior entertainer. She has yet to issue a formal apology on the matter.
Star Empire has since been regarded as a company that resorts to underhanded methods to put their artistes in better positions, even at the cost of others’ careers.
The outrage against Kwanghee’s appointment has reached the ears of Infinity Challenge’s producers, who have asked viewers to watch the show with an open heart and have maintained that his place on the show will remain.