JYJ have once more been swept up in an external pressure controversy

JYJ have once more been swept up in an external pressure controversy. On the 17th, the press conference for MBC’s ‘Miss Ripley’, the drama in which Park Yoochun plays a leading role, was held yet reporters from MBC’s entertainment news program ‘Section TV Entertainment News’ were not seen, sparking alight the pre-existing rumor that SM Entertainment, JYJ’s former agency, is applying external pressure on the MBC variety program sector. This rumor had already escalated when it was found that Park Yoochun was scheduled to appear on MBC’s ‘Come to Play’ and KBS’ ‘On a Roll’, only to have his appearances cancelled.

In a phone conversation with 10Asia, a representative of ‘Section TV Entertainment News’ stated, “We have a system and criteria set for such news coverage. If there are better items to cover, we do not have to send reporters to a location for the sole reason that the drama is one being aired by our broadcasting company. Recently, we aired a segment focusing on Lee Da Hae of ‘Miss Ripley’, so we decided to exclude the press conference from the list as it overlapped.“

However, ‘Section TV Entertainment News’ has attended the press conferences of all MBC miniseries with the exception of ‘Matched Pair’. But ‘Section TV Entertainment News’ focused heavily on ‘Matched Pair’ after the press conference by visiting the filming location of the drama frequently and holding a separate interview with the child actors. The lack of coverage of ‘Miss Ripley’ by MBC has left the production company of the drama with many questions left unanswered.

The production company of ‘Miss Ripley’ stated, “We had no problem adding Park Yoochun to the cast of the drama. We, too, are curious as to why Park Yoochun can’t appear on variety programs.“

The rumors of external pressure are also circulating around KBS. KBS recently responded to a viewer who wrote a post in the Viewer’s Thread titled, ‘Please explain why JYJ can’t appear on KBS shows’. According to the response, “As JYJ’s lawsuit with their former agency has not yet ended, KBS is awaiting the results of the lawsuit with the most objective position as possible. The televised appearance of a celebrity locked in a legal dispute, such as a lawsuit, usually has an impact on the controversy that surrounds them. So it is a normal procedure to await the outcome of the situation and to refrain from allowing the celebrity to appear on TV.”

Though the Courts laid down the verdict that JYJ are allowed to temporarily pursue independent activities in the entertainment industry until the final verdict of the lawsuit between the group and SM Entertainment, KBS cannot allow them to appear on their programs as they are currently active under a dual-contract. KBS added that JYJ would not be able to appear on KBS’ programs until the end of the legal dispute. CEO Baek Chang Joo of C-JeS Entertainment, currently in charge of managing JYJ, has already released an official statement refuting that of KBS.

But Park Yoochun has already appeared on KBS’ ‘SungKyunKwan Scandal’ and JYJ sang that KBS’ ‘Acting Awards’. Therefore, people can’t help but question why JYJ are able to appear on all programs excluding variety shows. Even if the public were to accept KBS’ stance, there is no equity in the notion that the standards of appearing in a variety show and the standards of appearing in a drama are different.

On the other hand, ‘Section TV Entertainment News’ stated, “If ‘Miss Ripley’ becomes very popular, we will become the ones to ask for coverage of their drama.” This means that the success of ‘Miss Ripley’, as well as the response from the MBC variety program sector, may be what will confirm or deny the rumors of external pressure. Will JYJ be able to appear on variety programs?

Source: [10 asiae]
Translated by: dongbangdata.net 

Shared by: ourJYJ