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Why is Yunho not hosting 'Kingdom'? Mnet cuts singer off amid police investigation, fans say 'won't be fun'

Mnet has said that the channel is complying with SM Entertainment’s information regarding Yunho’s ongoing police investigation

Mnet's 'Kingdom' will not see TVXQ's U-Know, aka Yunho, as the host anymore. Changmin will be wearing the emcee hat alone, the channel stated. Ahead of the much-anticipated start of the Mnet reality show starring fourth-generation superstars Stray Kids, Ateez and The Boyz, among others, the K-pop show will also edit the pre-recorded scenes of Yunho accordingly.

Mnet’s 'Kingdom', the sequel after ‘Road to Kingdom’ (2020), has already gathered massive response ahead of the show as along with a star-studded K-pop lineup, Mnet brought two incredibly talented SM Entertainment artistes Yunho and Changmin to host the show. In a pre-show introductory clip, TVXQ members also sat down and expressed their thoughts on each group. 

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TVXQ's Yunho allegedly fled from cops after flouting social distancing rules at adult entertainment business

Why will Yunho not host the show?

Mnet has said that the channel is complying with SM Entertainment’s information regarding Yunho’s ongoing police investigation. A statement from the channel read, “Mnet has received a notice from SM Entertainment stating Yunho won't be participating in the 'Kingdom: Legendary War' until the police investigation results are out. As a result, Mnet has decided to film the program with Changmin only. As far as the pre-recorded portion of Yunho is concerned, the edits will be made accordingly."

Fans call it ‘unfair’

Fans believe that more details about the case should be released as it is really not unfair not to let Yunho host the show, the member who is currently being investigated for not abiding by social distancing measures of Covid 19. A fan wrote, “How unfair. When the news was already proven wrong. It won't be as fun if it's just one host, even Road To Kingdom had two hosts!” Another said, "I hope that the police will public the details soon because I really want Yunho to be the host for Kingdom, along with Changmin." Another fan slammed the channel saying, "Already without Hyunjin I didn't want to watch him now I have a second reason not to. People are ruining the careers of so many Idols and it's time for them to find another hobby like staying away from Twitter ecc..."

Previously, Yunho was accused of running away from the police after he didn't abide by the social distancing protocols. SM Entertainment denied the fleeing allegations stating, "It was clearly wrong for Yunho to have not abided by the social distancing regulations, and he is also personally deeply reflecting. However, he did not do anything wrong other than violating the social distancing regulations. All Yunho did was go to the location that his friend told him to come to after his friend contacted him to say that he wanted to talk about a concern. It was his first time going to that place."

The statement further said that he was only meeting with his friends there. "Also, the only people that Yunho spent time with there were his friends. It is not at all true that there was a female employee sitting with them. At the time of the police’s arrival, there were only managers there to handle the payment, and there was not a female employee", the statement read.

It further added, "In addition, it is not at all true that Yunho tried to flee when the police arrived. Instead, he earnestly cooperated with the police and the public officials in the performance of their official duties, and so after he immediately confirmed his identity on the scene, he was sent home. As there were suddenly more than 10 plain clothes police officers coming in, some of his friends were taken aback and protested, unaware that they were police officers. However, this was something completely unrelated to Yunho."

Mnet 'Kingdom' is all geared up to start from April 1. Catch some of their special performances for 'Kimgdom' below.