K-pop boy band The Boyz’s Younghoon, former Sistar member Hyolyn and WEi’s Kim Dong-han, Yoo Yong-ha and Kang Seok-hwa tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as South Korea tallied 13,102 new cases on Jan. 26, the highest daily total since the pandemic started in 2020.
The Boyz’s Younghoon
IST Entertainment, The Boyz’s agency, announced that Younghoon, 24, was confirmed to have COVID-19 on Jan. 26.
“We would like to inform you that our artist, The Boyz's Younghoon, has been diagnosed with COVID-19. On Jan. 24, The Boyz members underwent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, and on the morning of Jan. 25, all 10 members and staff except for The Boyz member Eric tested negative and underwent voluntary self-quarantine,” it said.
On the afternoon of Jan. 25, it said, Younghoon underwent a preemptive PCR test and was confirmed to have COVID-19 on the morning of Jan. 26.
He is the second member of The Boyz to catch COVID-19 after Eric tested positive on Jan. 24.
“Immediately after hearing the news of member Younghoon's confirmation of COVID-19 this morning, considering the incubation period of the virus, both The Boyz and the staff conducted a COVID-19 tests, they are currently awaiting the results, and we will inform you as soon as the test results are released,” IST Entertainment said.
Hyolyn
In addition, Hyolyn, 31, tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 26. On Jan. 25, while waiting for the recording of the music show “You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook,” Hyolyn was informed that she was a close contact of a confirmed case in the show “Double Trouble.”
She stopped her schedule and underwent a PCR test. She was confirmed to have COVID-19 on Jan. 26. Hyolyn is fully vaccinated and before the recording of “Double Trouble” on Jan. 24, she got tested using a self-test kit, which came out negative.
WEi members
K-pop boy band WEi members Kim Dong-han, Yoo Yong-ha and Kang Seok-hwa tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 25.
Like Hyolyn, Kim Dong-han is a mainstay of the show “Double Trouble.” On Jan. 24, Kim Dong-han experienced symptoms of COVID-19 so all members of WEi underwent PCR tests on Jan. 25. On the afternoon of Jan. 25, the three members were confirmed to have COVID-19.
Their agency said Kim Dong-han used a self-test COVID-19 kit before the “Double Trouble” recording on Jan. 24 and tested negative. As a result, he participated in the recording of the show.
The five are the latest K-pop artists who tested positive for COVID-19.
Since Jan. 19, other K-pop artists who were confirmed to have COVID-19 are iKON’s Koo Jun-hoe, Kim Jinhwan, Song Yunheong and Kim Donghyuk; Treasure’s Yoshi; WINNER’s Lee Seunghoon; EPEX’s A-Min, Wish and Jeff; and Super Junior’s Eunhyuk.
As of Jan. 24, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has recorded 9,860 cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant.