Chani and Hwiyoung, members of the K-pop band SF9, have been booked for violating Covid social distancing protocols.

As per media reports on January 27, police officers caught the duo at a bar in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam, after getting information that the bar was in operation after the government had mandated closing time. The police and the fire department reportedly had to force the locked doors to the bar open as they arrived.

The police found the two SF9 members and 15 more people at the bar and booked all of them for violating social distancing rules. There are reports that the two SF9 members were celebrating Chani's birthday.

With K-pop idols testing COVID-19 positive, left, right, and center, with more than 7 different artists testing positive on January 27 itself, the youngest two SF9 members are now being held accountable for not thinking or acting responsibly.

SF9's management agency FNC Entertainment has released an official statement saying that they found out that SF9 members Chani and Hwiyoung violated the Seoul COVID-19 control protocols via a gathering on January 18 at 1 a.m. KST with acquaintances.

The agency stated that after going through their scheduled activities for the day, Chani and Hwiyoung were contacted by an acquaintance for celebrating Chani's birthday. After which, the duo went to a hold'em pub in the Nonhyeon neighborhood. For this reason, they were questioned for violating the regulations of disease control.

The entertainment company opined that the two members' actions were careless and deserved criticism. The agency also said the two were feeling reproachful of themselves for causing concern to the public and fans, and they are deeply regretful and self-reflecting.

FNC Entertainment expressed deep apologies for becoming inattentive about managing their artists, and there was no room for excuses. The agency also added that they will provide more thorough preparation and management measures so a situation like this does not arise in the future.

They once again apologized for causing disappointment and concern to many people with this incident.

Meanwhile, both Chani and Hwiyoung have posted handwritten apology notes on Twitter, narrating the incident to their fans. Hwiyoung said that he apologized for being unable to inform the members and the company. The singer said that he was sorry and embarrassed by his actions. Furthermore, he was unable to show complacent thoughts on the situation.

Chani's handwritten letter showed his profuse apology for the reckless behavior. He said that he will deeply reflect on his actions and the weight of his mistakes to never repeat them again.

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