Group Kortis [Big Hit Music]
Group Kortis [Big Hit Music]

K-pop group Kortis has issued a formal apology over allegations that the group caused a departure delay on a flight back from France.

Big Hit Music, the group's agency, said Tuesday that the group's late arrival at the airport on Friday was caused by traffic congestion following a road accident. "We sincerely apologize to all passengers on the same flight for the inconvenience," the agency said.

Online communities and social media had claimed that Kortis boarded late, delaying the flight's takeoff by nearly 40 minutes. The scheduled departure from Paris to Incheon was 2:40 p.m., but the group allegedly boarded at 2:45 p.m., pushing the actual departure to 3:18 p.m. — 38 minutes behind schedule.

Official departure records, however, show the flight left at 3:01 p.m., and the arrival time was only one minute later than scheduled.

Big Hit Music also rebuffed separate allegations that Kortis blocked a boarding bridge to change clothes after disembarking, disrupting other passengers.

The agency said footage circulating online showing the group changing clothes on a bridge was from last October, when the members were returning from a schedule in Japan. The group had been the last to exit the aircraft and were simply gathering their belongings after all other passengers had disembarked.

The agency also pushed back against claims that Kortis boarded late on a departure to Japan for a performance in May, saying the group "completed boarding well ahead of the boarding cutoff time."

Meanwhile, Kortis ranked No. 105 on Spotify's Weekly Top Songs Global chart released June 27 with "REDRED," the title track from their second mini album released last month, marking their ninth consecutive week on the chart. The track has held the top spot on the domestic Weekly Top Songs chart for eight straight weeks.

"REDRED" also surpassed 100 million streams just 57 days after its release, setting a record as the fastest boy group debuting within the past five years to reach that milestone.


betterj@heraldcorp.com