MBC Apologizes for Misusing Stray Kids' Hyunjin's Photo in Murder Case Program

MBC's Hidden Eye television program issued an apology to Stray Kids' Hyunjin and his fans. The Stray Kids member's childhood photo was misused while discussing a tragic murder case. 

Previously in December 2025, the Hidden Eye production team aired an episode about a woman who was murdered at the age of 16. The incident occurred in 2024. Unexpectedly, a photo of Stray Kids' Hyunjin as a baby was shown in the episode. 

The hosts of Hidden Eye were also unaware that the baby photo shown was not of the victim, but of Stray Kids' Hyunjin. Several months after the broadcast, a fan of Stray Kids' Hyunjin noticed the oddity in the episode because she recognized her idol's face. 

Fans of Stray Kids' Hyunjin immediately rebuked the production team of "Hidden Eye" for their mistake in using a photo of their idol as a murder victim. In the photo, a young Hyunjin is seen lying in bed with a blue teddy bear.

Following criticism from Stray Kids' Hyunjin fans, the Hidden Eye production team finally released an official statement on Tuesday (May 26, 2026). They apologized to Stray Kids' Hyunjin, fans, and Hidden Eye viewers for the error.

The Hidden Eye production team explained that they found a baby photo of Stray Kids' Hyunjin on the victim's phone. Therefore, they mistook the photo for a childhood photo of the victim. "While producing the episode, we used photos stored on the victim's phone. 

During this process, we misidentified a childhood photo of Stray Kids' Hyunjin as a photo of the victim and mistakenly used it." "As soon as we learned the truth, we immediately set the episode and the YouTube clip in question to private content. 

We also plan to edit the episode or make it private on replay services, including streaming platforms, as soon as possible," the Hidden Eye production team said in a statement.

Moving forward, the Hidden Eye production team promised to be "more thorough in verifying and reviewing the materials" they use. STAYs are also grieving that the victim was revealed to be a fan of Stray Kids' Hyunjin.