With Kang Ho-dong in the spotlight for tax evasion, he recently announced his plans to temporarily retire from the entertainment industry due to the shame he felt over his actions. Well, all nitty-gritty tax details aside, how will this affect the entertainment realm?


Being considered the nation's emcee, it would be an understatement that Kang is one of the most recognized and commonly seen faces of television. He's not only on various tv shows, but on commercials as well.


The four major shows that he currently emcees are all up in the air with the abrupt news of Kang's planned retirement. His weight on each of the shows is so great that the futures of the shows are in jeopardy altogether!


KBS's "1 Night 2 Days", SBS's "Strong Heart", "Star King", and MBC's "Knee Drop Guru" are the shows in question.


No concrete plans have been released from the broadcasters in terms of how they each plan on dealing with Kang's departure. However, let's take a closer look at the void we're talking about.


The most vulnerable to a program cut or change is "Knee Drop Guru". Kang's role is undeniably large as he is the "guru" who mainly interacts with the interviewed stars in such a way to bring out detailed, never-before-heard facts, all in a humorous and touching way. Talks of it being taken off air altogether is circulating being that the staff feels no other personality could fill Kang's big shoes.


Even KBS's "1 Night 2 Days" is considering pulling the plug. This is following the recent announcement that the show would air until February. However, without the crucial, older-brother-role that Kang plays for the rest of the team, the staff feels that cutting it early may be a smart decision.


SBS's "Strong Heart", or Kang Shim-jang in Korean, was actually named after Kang Ho-dong. That's how important he is on the cast. Granted he does have a co-host, actor and singer Lee Seung-gi, but nobody can deny that when it comes to pulling stories or talents out of the guests, nobody does it like Kang. Stopping the show is not out of the question for this show as well.


The one show that even has a fighting chance is "Star King", which is focused more on the guests' talents or uncommonness. The production team is currently in talks regarding which direction the show will take with Kang's departure.


Only time will tell what will happen to the fate of these shows.