A petition has been posted to revoke Jung Kook's Cultural Merit medal after Itaewon controversy.
Following Dispatch's report on the 18th, Big Hit clarified allegations involving Jung Kook writing, "Last week, several media outlets reached out asking whether Jung Kook visited the Itaewon neighborhood. We sincerely apologize for belatedly realizing the agency's response to the questions was problematic.
It's true that Jung Kook went to Itaewon. However, he didn't go the problematic club with confirmed case. He was in Itaewon the week prior to the first confirmed case. Also, to abide with government guidelines, Jung Kook took measures including taking a test. Because this was his private life, we thought it was inappropriate to reveal it to the public. However there's no room for excuse as we didn't properly recognize the importance of social distancing and prioritize the safety of the artist's private life. We bow our heads in apology.
On April 24th, Jung Kook visited a restaurant and bar in Itaewon with friends. He didn't show symptoms after the visit and voluntarily received a test that came back negative. He's feeling deeply regretful for not faithfully adhering to community social distancing efforts and is in deep reflection. We will follow the guidelines more thoroughly to make sure such things don't happen again. We apologize for causing concern."
Afterwards, a petition was posted on Blue House petition website asking for the government to revoke Jung Kook's 'Cultural Merit' medal that he was awarded as a BTS member.
In the meantime, Astro Cha Eunwoo, NCT Jaehyun and Seventeen's Minkyu have also released official statements apologizing for their actions.
- [+6,153, -263] Why did he even film a psa about social distancing?
- [+5,711, -309] Everything in the petition is true. Even as a fan I have nothing to say. I hope this is the last time he dirties the group's name.
- [+5,433, -370] Jung Kook-ah...I'm so embarrassed of you as a fan. Please ARMY stop with the ridiculous shields. He did wrong, let's all just reflect.
- [+454, -26] He's always going around causing trouble. He's going to get caught up in a big way one day. I hope he wakes up and behaves himself going forward.
- [+429, -17] Does he think BTS will stay popular forever? He's making the group and the members look cheap. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋI hope he reflects on his decisions right now and works hard so that he doesn't end up as a YouTuber ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- [+282, -14] Didn't NCT's Jaehyun also get a medal from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in October 2019? Where is SM? Why is Jung Kook the only one getting chewed out?
- [+129, -6] Jung Kook and Cha Eun-woo are the more popular and well-known to the public so of course they're getting the bulk of the blame. Jae Hyun and Minkyu are lucky they're nugus.
