Broadcaster Cho Sae-ho, who was forced to leave 2 Days & 1 Night amid allegations of ties to organized crime, appeared without editing in a pre-recorded episode.
On the 21st episode of KBS2's 2 Days & 1 Night season 4, the show was presented as an end-of-year "hardship settlement Race" special.
The members gathered in Sacheon, Gyeongsangnam-do, and brought up the 2025 KBS Entertainment Awards from the opening. Mun Se-yun mentioned the special stage, saying, "Now that the entertainment awards are over and we're together. Congratulations, Jongmin hyung. Can he really dance 'Soda Pop' that well?", and Kim Jong-min complained, "Mockery has been rampant since morning."
Lee Jun also said, "I liked it?", and Cho Sae-ho expressed admiration, "Hyung, you are truly amazing." Mun Se-yun teased, "That lingering feeling is still there, so do it just a little," and Kim Jong-min performed awkward moves that drew laughter. The production team added captions explaining, "Today is two weeks before the entertainment awards' filming," and "Hasn't learned the choreography yet," and used footage from the previous day showing Kim Jong-min safely finishing his performance.
The production team said, "(The broadcast day) is the day after the entertainment awards. Just to let you know, Kim Jong-min is among the candidates for the grand prize," and Kim Jong-min revealed, "I've been rising almost every year." Mun Se-yun predicted the grand prize, saying, "Was 2016 the last solo grand prize? The veterans seem to win once every 10 years. It feels like that," but Kim Jong-min ended up receiving the 'Variety Performer of the Year' award rather than the grand prize.
At that time, Cho Sae-ho mentioned the drama Love: Track - A star's love in which his fellow recruit Lee Jun appears, saying, "The entertainment awards are one thing, but I'm also curious about my colleague's drama," and Lee Jun promoted it, saying, "It's a realistic star-rating love story between a man and a woman. It's a story about a man rated five stars going on a blind date with a woman rated one star. There are ratings from five to one, and I am the five-star man."
Later, the production team announced the travel itinerary, saying, "We plan to travel along the south coast from Sacheon to Goseong to Namhae," and explained, "There is something you must do when the year ends. It's year-end tax settlement. So today's travel concept is the year-end hardship settlement Race. You've been hungry this year, couldn't eat, and suffered sleeping outdoors, right? We'll settle those hardships all at once today."
Then the production team revealed the tally of dinners and outdoor sleeps for the year, and failures to secure dinner tied Yoon Seon-ho and Mun Se-yun for first place with seven times each. In contrast, DinDin had the fewest with three, and Yoon Seon-ho grumbled, "DinDin hyung's got it sweet. He ate everything except three times all year." DinDin retorted, "Isn't it because you guys couldn't do it that you didn't eat?" Also, Kim Jong-min drew attention by ranking a dominant first with 12 outdoor sleeps. Kim Jong-min choked up, "My mouth will get used to it! Let me sleep inside!", and DinDin marveled, "Didn't you sleep outside for half the year?"
The production team explained, "We'll calculate it at 1,000 won per episode and refund it." Accordingly, Kim Jong-min received 18,000 won, Mun Se-yun 17,000 won, Lee Jun 16,000 won, Cho Sae-ho 12,000 won, Yoon Seon-ho 11,000 won, and DinDin 9,000 won to start the game. This Race was three versus three, and the production team warned, "A harsh penalty awaits at the end of the journey. We will do a winter plunge," causing everyone to tremble in fear.
Teams were formed randomly by Kim Jong-min, and Kim Jong-min, Yoon Seon-ho, and Lee Jun formed Kim Jong-min's team. The remaining Cho Sae-ho, Mun Se-yun, and DinDin formed the Godingaemrae team. In the first game for a 10,000-won refund, after fierce close calls, the match was decided by a coin toss, resulting in a victory for Kim Jong-min's team.
While moving to the lunch location, the production team asked, "Was there a difficult moment during the year?", and Kim Jong-min answered, "I had a hard time in Goheung." DinDin said, "Me too. I even did an event in Goheung back then. There were so many mosquitoes that I really couldn't sleep at all for the first time in a long time. That was really hard," and Mun Se-yun recalled, "On the day Baekga hyung came too." Kim Jong-min complained, "It was cold the day Baekga came too. They took our clothes off to take photos," and DinDin added, "Hallasan was hard too."
Yoon Seon-ho confessed, "I also had a hard time during the severe cold season," and Mun Se-yun laughed, saying, "I forget it because grilled samgyeopsal was so delicious then," adding, "People really just live to eat and sleep. No matter how much hardship there is, if you give good food, it all melts away. No matter how much hardship there is, if you sleep in a warm room, it all melts away. This is a great show."
After twists and turns both teams finished lunch, and Yoon Seon-ho and Mun Se-yun, who picked up an 'oyster' envelope, were eliminated and had to work collecting oysters. The remaining survivors continued the game at the Goseong dinosaur museum, and although Kim Jong-min's team won the dinosaur quiz, they decided to swap their refund money, instantly turning the tide.
Meanwhile, next week's preview showed members carrying out an escape mission within a 15-minute time limit. Earlier, Cho Sae-ho stepped down from shows he was appearing on, including 2 Days & 1 Night season 4 and You Quiz on the Block, and suspended activities amid fallout from allegations of ties to organized crime. The accuser claimed that Cho Sae-ho had a close relationship with an organized crime figure accused of operating illegal gambling sites and money laundering, alleging that Cho Sae-ho received expensive gifts or helped promote franchises run by the organized crime group.
At the time, Cho Sae-ho's side dismissed the claims as groundless, saying they were merely acquaintances with no exchange of money, and hinted at legal action against the accuser, but separately decided to leave the programs he was appearing on. You Quiz on the Block edited Cho Sae-ho as much as possible from existing footage, but 2 Days & 1 Night aired Cho Sae-ho's appearance without editing. However, having already left the program, Cho Sae-ho did not attend the live 2025 KBS Entertainment Awards on the 20th and disappeared completely without even being mentioned.
[photo] KBS2
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