[Sportschosun, Reporter Jo Min-jeong] Broadcaster Jo Soo-bin deleted a YouTube video after drawing controversy over the source of funds for a junior announcer's move into a newly built apartment in Banpo.
On the 26th, Jo Soo-bin uploaded a video to her YouTube channel titled "A Banpo New Apartment Bought Through Small Savings." The video showed her visiting the home of a junior announcer from a comprehensive programming channel who lives in Maple Xi in Jamwon-dong, Seocho District, Seoul.
Maple Xi is a flagship new apartment complex in the Banpo area that began occupancy last year. Units with 84 square meters of floor space are currently valued at around 5 billion to 6 billion won. In the video, Jo Soo-bin asked her junior, "An announcer's salary is not very high, so how did you buy a new Banpo move-in right?" The junior replied, "Savings," and added, "I did not invest in stocks or crypto."
Soon after the video was made public, online criticism followed, with many saying that it was unrealistic to explain the purchase of a multi-billion-won apartment move-in right through savings alone. Some also pointed out that a substantial amount of personal capital would have been needed once the contract deposit, final payment, acquisition tax, and additional contributions were taken into account.
As the backlash grew, Jo Soo-bin explained in the comments, "I worked as a dual-income household for a long time and also invested over an extended period." She added, "My parents also helped, but it was not beyond what society would consider normal." She went on to say, "I seized the opportunity before home prices surged, when regulations were looser than they are now, and I have lived with minimal housing costs and extreme frugality."
Even so, questions about how the funds were raised continued, and the production team changed the video title to "A Visit to a Beloved Junior's New Home Decorated with Carrot and Refurbished Items." It then issued an official apology, saying, "We apologize to those who felt uncomfortable because of the thumbnail and editing," and "We focused too much on the home tour and failed to fully include the context we wanted to convey."
The video was eventually deleted. The production team repeatedly bowed its head, saying, "We wanted to highlight the cast member's diligent approach to life and investment philosophy, but it was conveyed differently from what we intended."
Jo Min-jeong, mj.cho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
