"My Ugly Duckling" Addresses Future Plans Following Kim Gun Mo's Alleged Assault Controversy

Following accusations made against Kim Gun Mo of sexual assault and physical assault, SBS’s “My Ugly Duckling” has announced that they have no further plans to film with the singer.

On December 11, a source from “My Ugly Duckling” stated, “This week’s broadcast of ‘My Ugly Duckling’ contains no footage of Kim Gun Mo. There are also no plans for additional filming in the future.” They continued, “Kim Gun Mo’s part on December 8 was his last,” implying the singer is departing from the show.

Recently, Kim Gun Mo announced his plans to marry pianist Jang Ji Yeon in May 2020. On December 6, the YouTube channel Garo Sero Institute (literal title) featured lawyer Kang Yong Suk and former reporter Kim Yong Ho reporting on Kim Gun Mo’s alleged sexual assault of a woman. Furthermore, the YouTube channel’s December 10 episode focused on another woman who says that she was physically assaulted by Kim Gun Mo.

On December 8, “My Ugly Duckling” announced their decision to air Kim Gun Mo’s appearance on the show. However, viewers expressed their discomfort at the broadcast, which contained scenes of Kim Gun Mo’s proposal to Jang Ji Yeon.

Furthermore, the December 10 episode of the talk show “Video Star” has been criticized for its handling of a segment related to Kim Gun Mo. Actor Jang Hee Woong, who is Jang Ji Yeon’s brother, appeared on the show as a guest that day, and a part in which he spoke about Kim Gun Mo and Jang Ji Yeon was edited out of the episode when it aired on television.

However, the segment was uploaded on the “Video Star” channel on a portal site, which caused a controversy. Jang Hee Woong said in the clip that he felt that Kim Gun Mo is a warm person who feels like family, and he talked about how they wore Batman t-shirts together. He said to Kim Gun Mo via a video message, “I’m so glad and grateful to become a family. Let’s be close and have fun like a family.”

A source from the show explained, “Since we were editing the episode right up until it aired, things were very chaotic.” They went on to say, “It seems like there was an error when the clip was uploaded to the portal site. It was immediately deleted.”

In response to the initial sexual assault allegations, Kim Gun Mo’s agency stated that the claims were false and that they would be taking legal action against Garo Sero Institute.

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