"My Family Was Destroyed... Yet She Appeared on TV": Hapssuk Matseon Production Team Apologizes for Cast Member's Affair Controversy

SBS Hapssuk Matseon Apologizes for Cast Member Affair Controversy
"Emergency Re-Editing Began After Learning of the Issue"

The production team of SBS's 'Jasik Bangsaeng Project - Hapssuk Matseon' (hereinafter Hapssuk Matseon) has issued an apology regarding a cast member's affair controversy.

SBS 'Jasik Bangsaeng Project - Hapssuk Matseon' (hereinafter Hapssuk Matseon) Poster

On January 21, the Hapssuk Matseon production team released a statement saying, "We sincerely apologize for the discomfort caused to viewers due to the unfortunate controversy involving a cast member." They also announced that all footage of the female cast member at the center of the affair allegations would be completely removed.

The production team stated, "We recently became aware that one of the cast members has a past history that could spark social controversy," and added, "We have requested clarification from the cast member in question, but have not yet received a specific response."

"As soon as we became aware of the controversy, we immediately began emergency re-editing," the team explained. "To ensure that viewers can watch the program without discomfort, we have decided to remove all footage of the cast member in question from all remaining episodes."

The production team continued, "During the casting process, we repeatedly confirmed through pre-interview surveys and in-depth face-to-face interviews that there were no disqualifying factors in the cast members' past or present records." They added, "When signing the appearance agreement, we also included a clause stating that the cast member declares and guarantees not to have been involved in any crimes, drugs, affairs, or school violence, and specified a penalty for breach of this clause."

The production team said, "Despite these efforts, we are shocked and deeply saddened that a controversy has arisen regarding the personal past conduct of a cast member. Above all, we offer our deepest and most sincere apologies to the viewers who may have been hurt by this incident, as well as to the other cast members who participated in filming with sincerity."

Hapssuk Matseon is a dating show where ten single men and women who wish to get married, along with their ten mothers, live together for five nights and six days, getting to know each other with the goal of marriage.

Previously, a woman in her 40s, referred to as Ms. A, claimed on JTBC's 'Incident Chief' that one Hapssuk Matseon cast member had an affair with her husband, leading to both a divorce lawsuit and an adultery lawsuit in 2022, both of which she won.

According to Ms. A, the court found both her husband and the woman responsible for the breakdown of the marriage and ordered them to pay a total of 30 million won in damages. Ms. A said, "I was deeply shocked to see my husband's affair partner appear on a dating reality show. My family was destroyed, and yet she appeared on television without any sense of guilt, which was truly shocking."