On the March 4 episode of the tvN variety show You Quiz on the Block (hereafter You Quiz), Yoon Hee-jun, head of rookie development at SM Entertainment, appeared as a guest.

Speaking about situations where trainees’ contracts come to an end, Yoon said, "I deliberately try to keep my emotions out of it when I talk to them. No matter how you phrase it, it is still a rejection, and clumsy words of comfort are meaningless, so I just tell them the facts in a straightforward way."

He then recalled former trainee Ejae, saying, "She’s someone who really stayed in my mind when I had to tell her the contract was ending." He went on, "When Ejae was on You Quiz, didn’t she say she cried on her way home after hearing about the contract termination? I was actually the one who told her that, so watching that made me feel really bad."

Yoon continued, "Back then I also told her, ‘You’re going to succeed no matter what you do.’ We kept in touch even after she left the company. She even told me, ‘I’m going to be on You Quiz.’" He added, "If you turned diligence into a person, it would be Ejae. Her success now is only natural."

SM executive says contract termination notice to 'KPop Demon Hunters' artist Ejae "was heartbreaking" (You Quiz on the Block)