Following criticism for bringing up girl group RESCENE's past "museobno" controversy, broadcaster Kim Sun-tae, a former public official for Chungju, has moved quickly to apologize.
Kim uploaded a video titled "I'm Sorry" to his YouTube channel on July 30, offering an immediate apology. He began by saying, "Hello, this is Kim Sun-tae. First, I sincerely apologize to everyone who was hurt by the pre-release video of 'Don-tae's Era of Success' uploaded to the KBS YouTube channel yesterday."
He explained when he first became aware of the controversy. "I first saw the pre-release video at around 8:40 yesterday," Kim stated, adding that as soon as he realized a problem had occurred, he asked the production team to delete the video. He blamed himself, saying, "Even though the video bears my name, I was truly irresponsible. Hiding behind the name of a broadcasting station, I did not request any prior review or pre-sharing of the uploaded video."
He also directly acknowledged the controversial remarks. "The excessive mention of the guest, which many people pointed out, is also clearly my fault," he explained. "As it was my first filming for the show, I was so busy familiarizing myself with the script on the day of the shoot that I completely failed to recognize its problematic aspects on site."
He concluded his apology by saying, "After the video was made private, I took time to reflect on my words and actions up until now. Moving forward, I will be much more cautious in all my statements and actions. I will work hard to ensure that something like this never happens again. I want to express my deepest apologies to everyone who suffered harm due to my shortcomings, especially the members of RESCENE."
Previously on July 29, a pre-release video for "Don-tae's Era of Success" was posted on the YouTube channel "KBsbs Original." In the video, Kim drew criticism for bluntly bringing up RESCENE member Woni's past "museobno" controversy, asking, "Didn't anyone say this might be viral marketing?"
The controversy intensified as critics pointed out that he re-stimulated painful memories for an artist who had already suffered emotional distress over a settled political controversy. Furthermore, it was revealed that the video's hashtags were flooded with the names of political and business figures, including the president, who had nothing to do with RESCENE. Eventually, the video was made private about four hours after its release.
(SBS Entertainment News, reported by Kang Kyung-yoon)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.