Mnet’s “Kingdom” Responds To Reports Of Fairness Issues Regarding Stage Decoration Budget

Mar 29, 2021

Mnet’s “Kingdom” has responded to reports of unfair treatment.

“Kingdom” is the male version of Mnet’s competition program “Queendom” and will feature THE BOYZ, Stray Kids, ATEEZ, BTOB, iKON, and SF9 as competitors.

On March 29, industry representatives reported of an issue that arose while recording performances for a hit song mission. Each group was told beforehand that the maximum budget for stage decoration would be 5 million won (approximately $4,416) each in order to ensure fairness. However, during the recording, some of the groups’ agencies reportedly asked why a certain group had an extravagant set and props that appeared to be far over the budget and questioned if it was due to CJ ENM investing in the group’s agency. According to the report, the production team said at the time that it is because the group’s props were from their concert, but as the other groups have also had concerts with props that could’ve been used, their agencies continued to speak out.

In response to the report, Mnet’s “Kingdom” has released the following official statement:

As it is the first competition round, we set a budget to equally coordinate the six teams’ performances, but we apologize for not considering details that could’ve been defined like limits and possible situations. Following the first competition round, the production team is realizing the gravity of the issue regarding this aspect.

However, as we have to prioritize the artists’ creatives for the best possible performances, we have concerns and are cautious about presenting a specific guide regarding all aspects of stage set production.

The “Kingdom” production team is working hard for the artists to be able to focus on their performances and create the best possible performances by having close conversations with the six teams and their agencies. We will do our best in order for future competition rounds to be carried out smoothly.

“Kingdom” will air its premiere episode on April 1 at 7:50 p.m. KST.

Source (1) (2)