According to reports on December 12, EBS's live show 'Tok!Tok! Boni Hani', a children's broadcast aimed at nurturing healthy creativity and imagination, will be halting all productions for the time being.
Back on December 10, the program came under fire as viewers accused comedian Choi Young Soo of acting violently toward fellow cast member, Busters's Chaeyeon. Afterward, the program's staff clarified that there was no violence on the filming set and apologized for the footage which led to negative speculations. Despite the staff's apology, viewers continued to argue that as Chaeyeon is a 15-year old minor, an adult playing such a joke on a minor while filming a children's program should not be tolerated.
Viewers' complaints continued to cause a stir via various online communities as some accused another cast member, comedian Park Dong Geun, of also showing violent behavior as well as speech toward Chaeyeon in the past. As a result, EBS officially announced on December 11 that the two comedians would be leaving the program.
However, netizens still accused EBS and 'Tok! Tok! Boni Hani' of neglecting their duties to protect their minor cast members. Various EBS representatives held an emergency board meeting on December 12, ultimately coming to the decision to halt productions for 'Boni Hani' for the time being, and to replace various staff members including PDs and filming crew, "for the protection of underaged cast members".
Meanwhile, EBS's 'Tok! Tok! Boni Hani' aired live every week from Mondays through Fridays, with Ahn Hyung Seob, Lee Eui Woong, and Newkidd's Jinkwon appearing as MC Boni and Busters' Chaeyeon appearing as MC Hani.
Its right to look into their production crew's conduct. Its an unacceptable situation and for it to happen on live TV shows the extent of the staff's negligence.