MBC defends use of Noh, Gil photos

Broadcasting station MBC shared its side of the story on Thursday over the controversy surrounding this year’s “Infinite Challenge” calendar.

“Infinite Challenge” is one of the broadcaster’s longest-running and most popular TV shows.

Some viewers criticized MBC for featuring photos of Noh Hong-chul and Gil in its annual calendar and photo exhibition. Noh and Gil are no longer members of the TV show after they were separately caught drunken driving.

“Some insiders said we had to take out photos of them, but we also thought such a decision would disappoint many ‘Infinite Challenge’ fans who have been watching the show for a long time,” said MBC in a press release on Thursday.

“The nature of the annual calendar and the photo exhibition is to capture and share the yearlong history of the show, so we thought it was correct to record all the good and bad parts of the show. ... We tried to find a happy medium by featuring fewer photos of Noh and Gil.”

Selling calendars and holding a photo exhibition at the end of the year have become annual traditions for “Infinite Challenge.”

With the immense popularity of the series, the calendars are difficult to procure because official sales websites often freeze on the first day of sales due to heavy traffic.

The photo exhibition is also held throughout the country.

Starting Thursday, people are able to preorder the calendars and planners that have images of the show’s members through online open market Gmarket and MBC’s Tshop.

All proceeds go to charity except for the original costs and marketing fees.

BY SUNG SO-YOUNG [so@joongang.co.kr]