In what you would call a ‘daebak’ situation, K-Pop world’s god-tier idol Jungkook from BTS has admitted to being in Itaewon a couple of weeks ago, violating social distancing norms during COVID 19.
“It is true that Jungkook visited Itaewon. He did not go to the problematic place where the patient in early May had the confirmed case, and he went about a week beforehand.
He followed the government regulations and voluntarily got checked for Corona-19, and we decided that it was not our place to interfere in his personal life.”
BigHit Entertainment’s official statement read.
Why is this such a big deal?
BTS’s Jungkook, NCT’s Jaehyun, Seventeen’s Mingyu, and ASTRO’s Cha Eun Woo found themselves in a soup when news publication Dispatch claimed they went to ‘Itaewon Clubs’ during Golden week holiday (April 24-May 5).
This, in spite of advisory for social distancing, was repeatedly being made. The four idols apparently started at a restaurant and went to two different clubs in Itaewon.
New coronavirus cases hit South Korea in Itaewon
Earlier, several new cases of coronavirus infections were reported to spread from Itaewon clubs in South Korea. The government had asked those who had visited the concerned Itaewon clubs between April 24 to May 6 to self-quarantine themselves for 14 days.
Although the four idols had tested negative for Coronavirus, ASTRO’S Cha Eun Woo took part in all off the band’s comeback promotions, disregarding the self-quarantine period, if Dispatch’s report is to be believed. Jaehyun also MC’ed for ‘Inkigayo’ on the 26 April, 3 May, and 10 May.
Naturally, this raises question regarding the artiste’s civic responsibility and their agency’s poor handling of their schedule that jeopardises other’s health.
BigHit Entertainment Apologises for Jungkook
While Jungkook wasn’t reported to have attended any event during the aforementioned quarantine time, BigHit Entertainment, which represents BTS, issued a statement explaining his stance, and also apologized for their poor handling of the situation when the news initially broke.
We have no excuse that we placed the artist’s personal life before we were able to emphasize the importance of social distancing. We bow our head in apology.
Jungkook visited the restaurant and bar with his friends on the night of April 25th. Afterward, he did not have a cough or a fever, and his results came out negative. He is also deeply regretting how he did not follow social distancing measures seriously.
BigHit Entertainment
Labels representing the other three artists involved in this scandal are yet to make their public statements. Keep an eye on this space for further developments.