JTBC aired a new episode of 'Ssul Jeon' on February 6 and discussed music survival programs, such as 'Superstar K' and 'K-Pop Star.'

Heo Ji Woong asked Heechul if he knew why SM Entertainment dropped out of season 3 of 'K-Pop Star,' saying, "There are rumors that if they don't do training to a certain extent in SM, it 'gets hard to work together.'"

SEE ALSO: K-netizens react to Bang Si Hyuk's Kakaotalk message about "stepping on (crushing) aespa"

Heechul said, "In the case with SM, like I said before, when SM produces dramas, they want to take care of their kids," which might explain why SM tends to cast people signed under their agency.  Heechul continued, "Just like that, SM has a sense of duty in which they feel like they need to take responsibility for their [current] trainees."  SM viewed their trainees very highly; consequently, the agency never cast any of the people who auditioned on 'K-Pop Star.'  However, this became controversial as people wondered, "Why don't they cast anyone?" and "Do they not feel any responsibility?"  

Heechul said, "There was so much controversy that they decided to just not participate this time."