Korean TV station KBS criticized for making unreasonable demands from Seventeen

Korean TV station KBS has earned criticisms for making unreasonable demands from K-pop boy band Seventeen regarding its KBS Gayo Festival, which was held on Dec. 18.
According to Korean news outlet Dispatch, after Golden Child member Jaehyun tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Dec. 17, Seventeen stopped all activities and underwent testing.
Pledis Entertainment said on Dec. 18 that the testing was done on Seventeen after a confirmed COVID-19 person visited a hair salon at the same time as Seventeen. The boy band members immediately got their negative test results except for S.Coups whose negative diagnosis came later.
The agency’s employees also underwent voluntary testing and they did self-quarantine until a negative test result was obtained.
However, KBS called Seventeen for the pre-recording of KBS Gayo Festival on Dec. 18 ignoring quarantine rules. The 12 members were made to rehearse and S.Coups’ place was filled with a dancer.
A health official told Dispatch that even if a person received a negative test result, it was better to undergo quarantine.
With their hair and make-up done, Seventeen waited after rehearsing on stage. S.Coups’ test result did not come out and KBS canceled their appearance on the show. Seventeen returned to their dorm after four hours of waiting.
On Dec. 19, Pledis Entertainment announced that all Seventeen members tested negative for COVID-19.