Actor Lee Ji Hoon will not attend the press conference for the drama 'Sponsor'.

On the morning of January 23, Lee Ji Hoon decided not to attend the production presentation of the IHQ special drama 'Sponsor'.

Lee Ji Hoon made the name of the 'sponsor' known for the conflict over allegations of abuse of power to the filming staff and production team.

Lee Ji Hoon, who finished 'Sponsor' amid various controversies, is not expected to appear at the production presentation.

The name of Lee Ji Hoon was also removed from the cast of the production presentation released on February 16. Han Chae Young, Ji Yi Soo, Kim Jeong Tae, and Lee Yun Mi will attend the production presentation to introduce the drama directly.

'Sponsor' explained that Lee Ji-hoon's absence was a "scheduled problem."

'Sponsor' is a romantic romance between four men and women who go out to find a sponsor who will satisfy their desires, regardless of means and methods to get what they want. It was originally scheduled to be aired exclusively as an IHQ opening drama, but it was decided to air jointly with MBN.

'Sponsor' is a work that has been embroiled in an untimely controversy over suspicions of so-called 'staff abuse' by Lee Ji Hoon, who plays the lead role. There was also a suspicion that not only the staff but also the 'sponsors', such as the writers, had abused the production team at the time when they were created under the name of 'desire' and changed the staff.

Lee Ji Hoon has denied all allegations since the controversy, and since then all misunderstandings with the staff have been resolved and reconciled, and he said that he will focus on filming only the drama.

IVE is on fire, winning big even when the odds are against them!

On January 30, IVE (Ahn Yujin, Gaeul, Rei, Jang Wonyoung, Liz, and Leeseo) made waves by taking home their fifth music show win with their pre-release song “Rebel Heart.” Despite M Countdown being off the air and replaced with a highlight show, IVE still claimed the top spot for the final week of January.

The show revealed the winner at the end, and to everyone’s surprise, IVE secured their second consecutive #1 victory!

This major achievement marks a historic milestone for the group, reaching five music show wins with just their pre-release track.

Fans, known as DIVE, couldn’t be more excited, and IVE couldn’t be more grateful. In a statement from Starship Entertainment, the group expressed, "It feels like a surprise gift right before our official comeback. We've only had happy moments promoting 'Rebel Heart,' and we're so thankful for this 1st place win."

They went on to add, "Starting from February 3, we will bring even more happiness to DIVE. The title track 'Attitude' we will release then is a song that we all really love, and we hope DIVE will look forward to it."

“Rebel Heart,” released on January 13, is the pre-release track for IVE’s third mini-album IVE EMPATHY, which will drop on February 3. The song has already been making waves on both domestic and international music charts. It continues to perform well on Billboard, landing at 51st on Billboard Global Excl. U.S. and 97th on Billboard Global 200 as of February 1.

But it’s not just chart success that’s getting attention! The “Rebel Heart” dance challenge on TikTok has taken the internet by storm, with the members’ dance challenge videos collectively surpassing 24.96 million views with just two posts.

Additionally, viral challenges like the emoji challenge and the band challenge—where popular Korean bands perform the chorus of “Rebel Heart” in their own style—have sparked enthusiastic responses from fans all over the world.

With their official comeback just around the corner, IVE is poised for even greater success. Get ready for IVE EMPATHY and the double title tracks, including “Attitude,” coming on February 3.

Source (1)