JTBC's upcoming boy group audition program 'Project 7' issued a statement of apology after facing accusations of "excessive verification procedures" for individuals selected as audience members for the first competition round. 

Earlier on October 4 KST, one netizen who attended the first competition round for 'Project 7' as a member of the live audience garnered attention by claiming that there were 7 total verification procedures one had to pass before being let into the venue. The verification procedures listed included 1) a photo ID, 2) proof of address, 3) a Kakao ID verification received with the staff observing the screen the entire time, 4) a Naver ID verification, 5) a credit/debit card with one's name, 6) 10 selca photos of oneself without anyone else in the frame, and 7) a government certified document verifying one's identity.

When the issue stirred up criticism from fellow attendees and netizens, the production staff of 'Project 7' issued a statement as follows:

"First and foremost, we would like to thank all those who have shown an interest in 'Project 7'. 

We have verified the claims that some audience members suffered from excessive verification procedures.

Verification of one's identity is an essential requirement for 'Project 7', which is the first audition of its kind to bring fans together to build their own, global idol group, and which required the live audience members to participate in on-site voting during the first round. 

Those selected as live audience members were notified beforehand that these procedures were necessary and that they could inconvenience some; however, it seems that there was a misunderstanding over the exact procedures. 

First, live audience members were required to sign a consent form while verifying their identity with a valid photo ID. 

Second, if the information on the photo ID card did not match the information recorded during the registration process, the individual was asked to verify their address or phone number.

Third, those who did not pass this second requirement were asked to verify their identities using mobile app verification methods.

Most of the live audience members who attended successfully passed the verification with the first step. However, there were some cases when individuals were asked to verify their identities up to the third step. 

Furthermore, until now, the production staff personally handled the management of live audience attendance. However, this time, due to the high number of those who registered, the staff decided to contract an outside company to assist in the procedures, which led to the misunderstanding.

We offer our words of apology for inconveniencing audiences.

Keeping in mind that 'Project 7' is not possible without the world assemblers, we will take greater caution moving forward to ensure that this does not happen again.

Thank you."

JTBC's 'Project 7', hosted by Lee Soo Hyuk, is scheduled to premiere on October 18 at 8:50 PM KST.

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