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On Wednesday, February 22, Korean YouTuber Kagwang shared a flight with ITZY Chaeryeong who was accompanied by the rest of her members. This was first revealed when the YouTuber began a live stream on his channel, with many viewers noticing Chaeryeong passing by during the broadcast. The comments eventually caught Kagwang's attention as viewers flooded him with their mentions of Chaeryeong.
At first, he was confused about who Chaeryeong was and stated that he wasn't familiar with her. However, the YouTuber eventually realized it was an ITZY member through the comments. The problem surfaced when the YouTuber started to sing ITZY's famous track, DALLA DALLA, out loud and also continued to pretend to talk to Park Jin Young, who's the founder of JYP Entertainment, ITZY's agency.
What was clearly directed towards ITZY Chaeryeong to make her uncomfortable eventually became unbearable for the idol. Fans thought Chaeryeong made a smart decision to move her seat away from Kagwang rather than cause a scene by stirring things up. The YouTuber's actions were viewed as unnecessary and unacceptable by many.
YouTuber Kagwang releases a statement following the criticism of his rude behavior towards ITZY Chaeryeong
Following the outpouring of criticism directed at Kagwang for his rude behavior toward ITZY Chaeryeong, the YouTuber felt compelled to explain himself. Soon after the incident gained attention, Kagwang released a statement of explanation in his blog post. He stated that he first saw Chaeryeong at the airport lounge after fans explained the same to him. He said:
"While helping myself to the free whiskey, cola, and buffet at the lounge, I realized my chat room was full of comments stating I was in the same airport as ITZY, so I asked who ITZY was and if they were more famous than Geum Bo Ra, and that in my days it was Taesaja."
As he engaged more with the viewers in the comments, Kagwang said that it was only then that he knew ITZY Chaeryeong was sitting beside him and had heard him talk about ITZY and his comparison of them to Taesaja. Soon after, Chaeryeong stood up to switch her seat. Sensing a misunderstanding, the YouTuber approached Chaeryeong to talk to her but was blocked by her manager before he could do so.
"Although it was by coincidence because I sat next to them at the airport lounge and because we were on the same flight, the staff thought I was a Sasaeng."
He also continued by stating that he was never rude to her or meant any harm through his actions and words.
"I, of course, did not make a scene on the flight. I spoke in a voice as if someone was sitting next to me. Business class seats are separated, so you have to speak loudly for someone to hear you."
Kagwang ended his apology statement by saying that he never meant to make ITZY Chaeryeong or their fandom uncomfortable by bringing up Taesang. While he apologized politely, he also stated that those who reported his YouTube channel without investigating his statement would be charged with defamation.
While many fans are unsure whether to trust the statement or his side of the story due to its unknown degree of legitimacy, they believe that there is no cause for concern because there has been no commotion from ITZY or their agency.
