"Running Man" is not ending this year after all. Following all the controversies late last year, in the end, SBS Network decided not to drop the show so it will continue beyond the initial ‘until February' airing schedule.
The news about "Running Man" canceled termination was spread online after the broadcasting network issued its official statement regarding the status of the show. On Jan. 24, Nam Seung Yong, SBS' chief of headquarters and the show's original creator released a notice about the management's decision not to drop the popular variety program.
According to Hankook Ilbo, Chief Nam created the said show and he has been fully involved in it since it first aired on July 2010. However, he was not able to protect the show when two of its original members Kim Jong Kook and Song Ji Hyo were being kicked out in December of last year.
The news that Kim and Song are being laid off gathered negative reactions from fans and it greatly saddened the whole cast as well. The decision to take out Song and Kim was out of the blue thus, together with the remaining four members, they instead opted to just end the program altogether than to lose their colleagues.
Now, Chief Nam explained that they decided to keep "Running Man" after much deliberation and putting a lot of weight on the fact that the program has about 100 million fans outside of Korea. He said that they just cannot set aside the opinions of fans just because the show is having internal issues.
According to Herald Pop, the six members which include Yoo Jae Suk, Kim Jong Jook, Lee Kwangsoo, HaHa, Song Ji Hyo and Ji Suk Jin agreed to continue doing the show. Although some members already have new shows or activity schedules, since "Running Man" was supposed to end in February, they still accepted the proposals to stay on the program.
The chief promised that the show will return with all of its six original members and more fun episodes are in store for the viewers. He also thanked the cast and fans for sticking with the show after all the troubles.
Meanwhile, Yonhap News reported that Kang Ho Dong might be joining "Running Man" as the seventh member. He will fill in the void left by Gary who departs from the show in November 2016. However, the news was immediately dismissed as the management is still figuring out if they will add a new member or not.
