While The Boyz was preparing for a comeback after transferring agencies, they encountered an unexpected ‘pit’. As the conflict between their new agency One Hundred and KBS spreads, a sense of crisis is growing among fans that The Boyz will be the ones to suffer the consequences.

Attention is being paid to whether the conflict between One Hundred and KBS will affect The Boyz‘s future actions. One Hundred recently claimed that their singer Xiumin was having difficulties appearing on KBS 2TV’s music program ‘Music Bank’ due to ‘external pressure’, and temporarily suspended appearances by Lee Soo-geun and Lee Moo-jin, both of whom are affiliated with their subsidiary Big Planet Made Entertainment, on KBS.

After that, the cold war between the two sides temporarily eased when KBS Entertainment Center Director Han Kyung-cheon drew the line at the ‘2025 Spring New Entertainment Program Briefing’ held on the 7th, saying, “It was due to a communication problem between the production staff and the agency.” One Hundred also changed their position on the 8th, saying, “We will trust what Director Han says and prepare for normal filming by our artists.” However, the future appearances of Xiumin and others on ‘Music Bank’ have not been decided, leaving the embers of conflict remaining.

In the meantime, attention is focused on whether The Boyz, who will release their third full-length album ‘Unexpected’ on the 17th, will be able to avoid the aftermath of the conflict between their agency and the broadcasting station. It has been understood that The Boyz‘s ‘Music Bank’ appearance until the 9th, a week before their comeback, the filming of KBS YouTube content ‘Limousine Service’, which was canceled during 100’s ‘Boycott’, and the release of ‘iCloud’, which the lead actor recently filmed, are still unclear. 100 has stated that they will wait for the production team‘s decision, but given the slow pace of discussions between the two parties, it is expected that it will take some time until a conclusion is reached.

The noise from their agency is bound to be even more painful for The Boyz. This album is The Boyz’s first full-group album since leaving IST Entertainment and transferring to 100 in November of last year, and is highly anticipated both inside and outside the music industry as the turning point for The Boyz‘s ‘Second Act’. In addition, with member Sangyeon set to enlist on the 17th, it is also drawing attention as The Boyz’s first step towards a ‘Gunbaekgi’ (a hiatus of the full group due to the members‘ military service).

As The Boyz is facing an important turning point and needs to receive full support from their agency, fans are expressing discontent as the agency’s issues are putting them at risk of disrupting their activities. Some fans have been harshly criticizing The Boyz on social media, asking, “Why should The Boyz take joint responsibility for the agency‘s decision?”, and even went as far as sending a truck with a warning message in front of the agency, a so-called ‘Truck Protest’.


Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.