Cho Sae-ho pressed on with TV appearances amid allegations of ties to organized crime…calls for him to leave 'You Quiz' spread
Allegations that comedian Cho Sae-ho is linked to organized crime have spread, leading to calls for him to leave the variety shows he appears on. However, Cho Sae-ho was confirmed to have participated normally in scheduled program recordings.
Earlier, accuser A said on SNS on the 5th, "Cho Sae-ho maintained a long friendship with Choi, a former organized crime member accused of illegal gambling and money laundering." He released photos of the two with their arms around each other or hugging, and raised suspicions of receiving expensive gifts and collusion in franchise promotions.
Responding to this, Cho Sae-ho's agency A2Z Entertainment denied all allegations, saying, "It was merely an acquaintance relationship learned during an event, and there were no paid gifts or improper relationships at all."
But A immediately rebutted, saying, "Given that they have known each other for more than 10 years, the explanation that they are mere acquaintances is hard to accept," and mentioned the possibility of releasing additional photos. The controversy spread further after the allegations were mentioned on MBN's "Kim Myung-jun's News Fighter."
As the controversy grew, Cho Sae-ho's SNS was flooded with protest comments such as "Get off You Quiz on the Block," "You're damaging Yoo Jae-seok's image," and "The production team must verify this," and Cho Sae-ho has currently disabled comments. In particular, concerns have been raised about the controversy spreading to co-host Yoo Jae-seok.
Meanwhile, the accuser A suddenly deleted subsequent posts and mentioned the possibility of deleting the SNS account, which has rather amplified the suspicions. Some netizens have raised the suspicion, "Was there outside pressure?"
Meanwhile, Cho Sae-ho participated as scheduled in KBS 2TV's "2 Days & 1 Night." The "2 Days & 1 Night" production team told OSEN on the 8th, "Filming on the 5th and 6th proceeded normally," and added, "We are watching the related matter closely."
So far there has been no change in Cho Sae-ho's side's position or additional explanation. As claims from the accuser and the agency clash, attention is focused on whether further revelations will follow and how the broadcaster's production team will respond.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]