Big Hit Entertainment Confirms BTS JUNGKOOK's Itaewon Visit

K-pop boy group BTS' management agency Big Hit Entertainment shared their statement regarding the group's member JUNGKOOK's Itaewon visit during South Korea's social distancing period.

On May 18, Big Hit Entertainment confirmed that JUNGKOOK was in Itaewon-dong, Seoul on April 25 and shared their apologies for causing concerns.
The agency's full statement reads as follows:

Hello, this is Big Hit Entertainment.

This is our official statement regarding BTS JUNGKOOK's visit to Itaewon-dong, Seoul.

First and foremost, we would like to express our sincere apology for our late acknowledgment that there were a number of inquiries from media outlets about JUNGKOOK's Itaewon visit, and that there was a problem with our initial response.

It is true that JUNGKOOK visited Itaewon. 

However, at the time of his visit, he did not go to the same place that had the confirmed case in early May, and he went about a week before the case occurred.

In addition, we thought that it would not be appropriate to disclose the artist's personal activities to the public because we voluntarily took precautionary measures including taking the test, following government guidelines.

However, there is no excuse to our decision as it showed that we, as the artist's management agency, clearly did not recognize the seriousness of social distancing during this period.

Instead, we put more priority into the protection of the artist.

We would like to sincerely bow our heads in apology to everyone.

JUNGKOOK visited a restaurant and bars in Itaewon on April 25.

After his visit, he has not had any COVID-19 symptoms such as coughing or fever, and he voluntarily got tested and received a negative result.

JUNGKOOK is currently deeply reflecting on the fact that he has not faithfully participated in the efforts of keeping social distance.

Big Hit Entertainment employees are doing our best to follow COVID-19 related guidelines and precautionary measures including social distancing.

We will be more thorough with our actions so that something like this does not happen again.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused to our fans and the public.
Earlier today, Dispatch exclusively reported that JUNGKOOK visited Itaewon with his '97-line' celebrity friends ASTRO's Cha Eun-woo, NCT's JAEHYUN, and SEVENTEEN's MINGYU during South Korea's government-recommended social distancing period.

▶ [SBS Star] JUNGKOOK·Cha Eun-woo·JAEHYUN·MINGYU Reportedly Visited Itaewon During Social Distancing Period

(Credit= Big Hit Entertainment)  

(SBS Star)