A KBS news anchor received mixed response for his remarks regarding BTS and EXO's popularity during the Jan. 26 airing of "Listen to it from the Candidate."
During Park Young Hwan's discussion on popularity with his guest, the KBS news anchor reportedly said BTS is beating EXO in terms of popularity. As expected, the reporter drew backlash from the fans who find the comparison unnecessary.
"You know that EXO is very popular, right? I heard they're getting beat by BTS nowadays but they're still a fantastic group," he said during the program as cited by Allkpop.
Park Young Hwan immediately acknowledged his mistake and apologized to both parties for his remarks about BTS and EXO. The KBS news anchor said it was not his intention to offend the fans of EXO, nor he planned to compare the two boy groups.
He added he was merely trying to start a debate with his guest when he brought up the matter in "Listen to it from the Candidate."
"I'm personally a huge fan of EXO and even attended their concert in the U.S. I look forward to seeing EXO's best promotions in the future and I sincerely apologize for hurting the feelings of the fans," Park Young Hwan wrote.
Fans claimed statements like this would only result to fandom war. Others stated there is no need to compare BTS and EXO as both K-Pop bands create beautiful music.
In fact, BTS is gearing up for their much-awaited comeback. According to Soompi, the boy group has started filming for a music video that will be released for their return. On top of that, BTS is set to release "WINGS: You Never Walk Alone" on Feb. 13.
On the other hand, EXO recently won their fourth Grand Prize at the 26th Seoul Music Awards. Aside from that, the boy group was also awarded with three other recognitions.