Updated March 1 KST:

Hongbin’s agency Jellyfish Entertainment posted an official apology that reads as follows:

Hello. This is Jellyfish Entertainment. Our artist Lee Hong Bin has caused great pain and concern to other artists and their fans with the words and behavior he showed during his personal live broadcast. We bow our heads in apology. We also sincerely apologize to the fans who support VIXX and Hongbin. We feel responsible about our artist’s words and actions and are reflecting on ourselves. We will pay closer attention to the management of our artists so that this kind of issue does not arise again. Once again, we apologize for causing concern. Thank you. March 3, 2020 From, Jellyfish Entertainment.

젤리피쉬 엔터테인먼트입니다. 소속 아티스트 이홍빈 군의 개인 방송에서 빚어진 물의에 관한 사죄의 말씀을 전합니다. 심려를 끼쳐드려 죄송합니다. 다시는 이러한 물의가 반복되지 않도록 아티스트 관리에 신중을 기하도록 노력하겠습니다. 감사합니다. pic.twitter.com/fqB2tOdTGi — Jellyfish Ent. (@jellyfish_ent) March 1, 2020

Updated March 1 KST:

After apologizing through his live broadcast, VIXX’s Hongbin took to his Instagram to post a written apology.

Read his apology below:

Hello. This is Lee Hong Bin (Hongbin). I sincerely apologize to the artists and the fans of those artists who were hurt by my improper words and actions from my previous late-night live broadcast. I also apologize to the VIXX members and fans for causing them to worry. There is no room for excuse. No matter what reason it was for, I am deeply reflecting on acting carelessly and not thinking deeply. I once again bow my head in apology to those who were disappointed by me. I will take care to ensure that something like this does not happen again, and I will reflect on myself. I am truly sorry.

Original Article:

VIXX’s Hongbin apologized for the remarks he made in his recent live broadcast.

Late at night on February 29, Hongbin held a live broadcast on his personal Twitch channel while having alcoholic drinks. During the brodcast, Hongbin made several comments about other idol groups’ songs including SHINee’s “Everybody,” Red Velvet’s “Red Flavor,” EXO’s “Wolf,” and INFINITE’s “Be Mine.”

Hongbin watched a video of SHINee performing “Everybody” while listening to the theme song of animated show “Digimon” and said, “Who combines this kind of idol music with band music? So lousy.” Hongbin also criticized the choreography of INFINITE’s “Be Mine,” saying, “If it were me, I would have hit the choreographer.”

Netizens and fans of the groups mentioned were angered by Hongbin’s comments and demanded an official apology.

A few hours after the initial broadcast, Hongbin held another live broadcast to apologize. He said, “I didn’t say those things to demean any group. I tried to differentiate between my live broadcast and my work as an idol. I’m sorry. I made a mistake. I said those things as a fan, thinking, ‘They could have looked much cooler,’ but I think it makes sense that their fans are angry. I didn’t think that far.”

He added that the remarks that were pointed out were only a small portion of the broadcast, saying, “I didn’t want to talk about my main job during my personal broadcast. That’s why I made negative comments about those songs, the songs of people I know. I think that those who are speaking [about the controversy] haven’t seen my previous broadcasts.”

In the middle of his apology broadcast, Hongbin left his seat to go outside for a few minutes. When he returned, he explained, “An employee from my agency came. They told me to just leave the team if I’m going to be like this. I think that makes sense. If my team tells me to leave, I’ll leave. Please don’t criticize my team. I made the mistake, not them.”

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Top Photo Credit: Xportsnews