‘4.3 billion won embezzlement → full edit-out’: Hwang Jung-eum ultimately replaced… Jo Yun-hee joins ‘Solo Because’ Season 2 [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Actress Hwang Jung-eum, who had served as an MC on the SBS Plus and E Channel variety show “Solo Because,” has been excluded from the lineup for Season 2. Actress Jo Yun-hee will take her place. Hwang Jung-eum, who had caused a social controversy over charges of embezzling approximately 4.3 billion won in company funds during her appearance on “Solo Because,” will not appear in the new season following the full edit-out of her segments in the final episode of Season 1.

The production team for “Solo Because” announced on the 9th that broadcaster Shin Dong-yeop and actress Jo Yun-hee have been confirmed as MCs for Season 2. Hwang Jung-eum, who had shared hosting duties with Shin Dong-yeop in Season 1, has been dropped from this season’s lineup.

“Solo Because” is an observational variety program that captures the candid daily lives of attractive singles who are “living authentically” in their own ways. Hwang Jung-eum, a single mother to two sons, served as an MC starting from the pilot broadcast in October 2024. After the show resumed as Season 1 in March last year, she continued to lead the program alongside Shin Dong-yeop and drew attention by sharing her personal daily life as one of the “Solo Sisters.”

However, Hwang Jung-eum faced a significant reduction in her screen time in the final episode of Season 1 last May. This was because it became known that she had been indicted on charges of embezzling funds from a personal corporation she owned, sparking controversy over the appropriateness of her broadcast appearance.

Hwang Jung-eum was indicted without detention on charges of embezzling approximately 4.34 billion won in company funds between December of that year and earlier, including receiving 700 million won as an advance payment to invest in cryptocurrencies from a loan obtained through the agency she belonged to in 2022. It was revealed that approximately 4.2 billion won of this amount was used for virtual asset investments.

When the incident became public at the time, it also affected “Solo Because.” Since the production team had already completed filming for the final episode, they broadcast it with Hwang Jung-eum’s segments minimized through post-production editing. It was effectively a full edit-out. Subsequently, Hwang Jung-eum was sentenced to two years in prison with a four-year suspended sentence on related charges.

Amid this, Hwang Jung-eum has also been excluded from the MC list for the new season. Jo Yun-hee will fill the position previously held by Hwang Jung-eum. Jo Yun-hee is set to join “Solo Because 2” as an MC and a new “Solo Sister,” showcasing her candid daily life. She is a single mother raising her daughter, Roa. She married actor Lee Dong-gun in 2017 and had a daughter, but divorced in 2020. Since then, she has raised her daughter with custody rights and also appeared on JTBC’s “Brave Solo Parenting – I Raise,” sharing her parenting daily life.

The production team stated, “Thanks to the enthusiastic support of viewers, we are able to present a new season after a year and a half. The reason ‘Solo Because’ was loved is that the stories of singles who build their daily lives and find happiness in their own ways provided meaningful empathy in an era where diverse forms of life are respected.” They added, “In this season as well, we will showcase various solo lifestyles—lonely because we are single, but happy because we are single—alongside new ‘Solo Sisters.’”

They further conveyed, “Please look forward to Season 2, where we will broadly capture the daily lives of singles that may be familiar to some but a fresh discovery to others, as well as the freedom and joy that can only be enjoyed when alone, along with the worries and candid emotions contained within.”

“Solo Because 2” will air its first episode on December 7.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original