[Sportschosun reporter Lee Ji-hyun] The production team behind broadcaster Lee Soo-ji's YouTube channel, Hot Issue Ji, has issued an official apology over controversy surrounding its content.
On the 15th, the Hot Issue Ji team bowed its head in an apology posted on the channel's community page, saying, "First, we sincerely apologize to everyone who felt uncomfortable or disappointed because of the video."
Regarding the disputed scene, the team explained, "The scene many people pointed out was not used with the intent of conveying any specific issue or political position." It added, "However, using the scene without sufficiently careful consideration of a socially sensitive issue was a lapse in judgment by the production team."
It also said, "This incident has nothing to do with the cast member's personal political views or intentions. It was a problem caused by the production team failing to review the video carefully enough during the production process." The team added, "We are also deeply sorry for causing unnecessary misunderstanding and burden for the cast member."
It further said, "We are taking this matter seriously and will produce content with a more responsible attitude going forward." It then apologized again, saying, "We sincerely apologize once more to everyone who was troubled by this."
The apology came as controversy spread over a video released on the 14th titled "Protecting Civil Servant Kim Ji-young's Iron Rice Bowl."
In the video, Lee Soo-ji played a civil servant named Kim Ji-young and comically portrayed her being harassed by malicious complainants. However, because the video included a scene in which one complainant repeatedly shouted, "By-election!" some internet users raised suspicions that it was mocking protesters who had demanded a by-election after the shortage of ballots in the 9th nationwide local elections, or portraying them as malicious complainants.
As the controversy grew, Hot Issue Ji removed the problematic scene and re-uploaded the video. Still, debate continued online, with criticism that there may have been political intent and counterarguments that the interpretation was excessive.
In the end, the production team drew a line in its official statement, saying there was no political intent, while acknowledging responsibility and apologizing for failing to fully consider a socially sensitive issue. It also repeatedly stressed that the controversy was a production issue unrelated to Lee Soo-ji's personal political views or intentions, in an effort to calm the backlash.
olzllovely@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
