‘I Am Solo’ PD Nam Gyu Hong submits absence letter for National Assembly testimony.

Nam Gyu Hong, the PD of the popular show ‘I Am Solo’, was scheduled to appear as a witness at the National Assembly’s Cultural, Sports, and Tourism Committee audit. However, on October 22nd KST, it was revealed that he submitted a letter of absence, citing overseas commitments. Nam PD explained that he is currently preparing for the launch of a new regular program and is in Europe from October 16th to 27th to arrange filming locations and schedules.

Nam was initially summoned as a witness for the hearing on October 24th regarding copyright infringement claims by broadcast writers. The National Assembly’s administrative office had attempted to inform him of the summons while he was reportedly filming in Jinan, Jeonbuk. It was only later that he submitted his absence notice, citing his overseas trip.

Earlier this year, controversy arose when Nam Gyu Hong PD was reported to have listed his name, his daughter’s, and fellow PDs Na Sang Won and Baek Jung Hoon in the writing credits starting from the February 21st episode of ‘I Am Solo’. Additionally, it was alleged that writers had requested a contract to receive re-broadcasting fees, which Nam reportedly refused, questioning the writers’ contributions to the show. According to the writers, Nam PD replaced their names with his own and those of the other PDs, including his daughter.

In response, the ‘I Am Solo’ team denied accusations of greed for re-broadcast fees. They clarified that Nam and the PDs played significant writing roles, and their names were added as writers as early as November 2023, long before the writers’ demands. They emphasized that this change was unrelated to re-broadcast fees and was simply to reflect the PDs’ writing contributions. Regarding Nam’s daughter, the team stated that she was listed because she had indeed participated in writing work. The production also criticized the system where creators monopolized re-broadcast fees through the Writers’ Association.

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