JO1 will be changing their group greeting.

On January 31, JO1 revealed their official group greeting “To the world, to the top,” during their fan meeting. However, many people commented that this greeting is similar to NCT’s greeting, which is “To the world, this is NCT.”

A source from JO1’s side commented, “It was pointed out to us that the greeting is similar to that of a preexisting artist. We had no intention of imitating or copying that artist. We deeply apologize for the great damage we’ve caused by giving the artist and their fans that impression.” They added, “We should have researched more thoroughly before announcing [the greeting], and we apologize for the poor judgement. We will reconsider once again with the JO1 members, and we promise to show a greeting that expresses the members’ hearts.”

Previously, Mnet responded to reports about JO1 preparing in Korea ahead of their debut. Mnet shared, “JO1 is producing their album and training in Korea, but there are absolutely no plans for them to debut in Korea,” adding that there were no Korean songs on the album and that Mnet was not connected to JO1’s album production or management.

“Produce 101 Japan” is a Japanese version of the “Produce 101” series that was produced by Yoshimoto Kogyo, MCIP Holdings, and CJ ENM. 11 members were chosen for the project boy group JO1, and all members of JO1 are Japanese. The group is currently planning to debut in Japan in March.

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