With Roy Kim’s status change from a witness to a suspect, the broadcasting industry is concerned about the potential aftermath.
In Jung Joon Young’s case, once he was booked for sexual assault and sharing illegally filmed footage, KBS and other broadcasting companies had to remove him from all shows he had featured in, including “2 Days & 1 Night.”
Additionally, broadcasting companies had to eliminate several VOD streaming services of shows that Jung Joon Young featured in. JTBC cancelled VOD streaming services of “Hitmaker,” “Old House, New House,” and “Ask Us Anything.” MBC terminated streaming services of the episode of “Radio Star” where Jung Joon Young’s “golden phone” was mentioned. tvN went through an arduous amount of work to remove Jung Joon Young’s footage from “Salty Tour” episodes. KBS took the hardest hit with “2 Days & 1 Night,” as they had to cancel all VOD streaming services and are at risk of terminating the program altogether.
On April 4, a source from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency revealed, “We booked and notified Roy Kim that he will be investigated on charges of spreading illegally taken footage.” They added that Roy Kim was originally a witness but will now be booked and investigated as a suspect.
The broadcasting industry is carefully looking out for any new updates that may arise regarding this case. From the broadcasting companies’ perspective, there are too many factors to consider to just decide to terminate VOD (video-on-demand) streaming services, and it may be too premature at this point to make any final decisions, since Roy Kim’s charges have not been proven yet. All broadcasting companies are in agreement that there is nothing more to be done at this point than to watch and see what unfolds.
On April 4, a source from Mnet stated, “Nothing is confirmed yet regarding the removal of any VOD (video-on-demand) shows Roy Kim has featured in. Since he has not yet been investigated by the police, we are currently waiting for further changes to the situation. We will be discussing this matter in accordance with police investigations.”
A source from tvN offered a similar statement to Mnet, and a source from JTBC also stated, “We are watching how the situation progresses,” and added that nothing is confirmed with regard to what to do with shows featuring Roy Kim, such as “Begin Again 2.”
Likewise, a source from SBS revealed, “Nothing is confirmed with regard to the cancellation of VOD streaming services of episodes featuring Roy Kim and Jung Joon Young in ‘Law of the Jungle.’ We are observing the progression of the situation.”
Previously on April 3, Roy Kim’s agency Stone Music Entertainment shared, “Roy Kim is currently pursuing his studies in the United States and is adjusting his schedule to return to Korea for questioning as soon as possible. Furthermore, he will diligently participate in the necessary questioning.”
Source: Soompi