On March 30, the chief producer (CP) of KBS’s “Music Bank” Kwon Yong Taek denied the restriction of IZ*ONE’s appearance on the show.

CP Kwon Yong Taek stated, “Thank you to all the viewers who have expressed their interest and affection for “Music Bank.” Many viewers have sent their concerns and opposition regarding our decision to cast IZ*ONE only once during their promotional period for their comeback. As the chief producer of “Music Bank,” I wanted to communicate with the viewers soon, but I hope viewers can understand that we weren’t able to respond right away due to concerns over the possibility that our explanation might unintentionally affect IZ*ONE’s future promotions in a negative way. Now that their domestic promotions have concluded, we want to explain the real intention behind our decision and ask for your understanding.”

He continued, “When we released a statement explaining that it was impossible to restrict appearances without legal evidence, tens of thousands of people criticized us for implementing unfair casting restrictions, and the paradoxical situation was flustering. As the employee who wrote the statement, I feel heavy responsibility and apologize. The fact that it was not one or two people who viewed this as a casting restriction was because our expressions were unclear and created room for misunderstanding.”

CP Kwon Yong Taek stated, “I want to clearly reveal that it is not true in the slightest that IZ*ONE is being excluded from KBS’s other programs. In fact, one KBS variety program requested IZ*ONE’s appearance, and I’m aware that they are scheduled to appear on the show. Please understand that I’m unable to reveal the program to respect the program’s promotional schedule.”

He added, “The production team of ‘Music Bank’ does not have the authority to prohibit or restrict certain artists. That authority belongs to the production department and deliberation department together, and it can only be carried out through an inspection procedure. We clearly revealed that IZ*ONE was not subject to restriction in the previous statement. We gave IZ*ONE the opportunity to appear in one episode during their promotional period, and it was no more and no less than that.”

The producer continued to state, “Excluding the various circumstances surrounding this controversy and looking only at the facts, IZ*ONE’s management company requested to the production team of ‘Music Bank’ for IZ*ONE to star twice on February 21 and 28, and the production team only cast IZ*ONE on February 21. Many people were curious as to why they were not cast on February 28 although there were no casting restrictions. Although we understand and respect fans’ goodwill and desire for all the artists they like to showcase a great performance on ‘Music Bank,’ unfortunately, not all artists can stand on the stage for ‘Music Bank.’ It’s because casting is inevitably a process of selection and exclusion.”

Finally, the chief producer stated, “As the intent of this statement was to reveal that the production team of ‘Music Bank’ did not restrict IZ*ONE’s appearance, and since we clearly stated that we had no intention of prohibiting IZ*ONE and no authority to do so, we determined that it was inappropriate to explain the reason why we didn’t cast IZ*ONE. We are sincerely thankful for the viewers who have expressed their affection for and interest in ‘Music Bank,’ and we will work harder to create even better stages.”

Previously on February 20, chief producer Kwon Yong Taek stated that IZ*ONE would not be banned from broadcast as there was no legal evidence that IZ*ONE members were connected to the “Produce 101” series voting manipulation controversy.

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