TV personality Hong Seok-cheon has proposed that the students of the Baejae High School baseball team, who sparked controversy for mocking Gwangju Jeil High School with their cheers, should visit Gwangju in person to offer an apology.

On July 1, Hong posted a message on his social media titled "My Thoughts on How to Apologize," sharing his perspective on the recent incident.

Hong shared, "Growing up, I was educated through news reports that claimed 'rebels in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, started an uprising and were suppressed by military force.' It wasn't until I graduated from middle and high school and entered university in Seoul that I learned the truth was different. I was deeply shocked, and I felt truly saddened when I learned about the pain of Gwangju."

He continued, "I felt a lot of guilt, wondering why I had held onto such thoughts for so long. The people I met in Gwangju were so warm and beautiful, and they gave me happy memories."

Addressing the recent controversy involving the Baejae High School baseball team, Hong stated, "Honestly, I was very surprised when I saw the news. I felt that students shouldn't behave that way."

He suggested, "Rather than the school just issuing a formal apology and explaining the situation, I think it would be best for the baseball team students to go down to Gwangju, talk to the students of Gwangju Jeil High School, apologize, and share a meal prepared by the warm-hearted mothers of Gwangju before returning."

"I believe that is the best way for them to apologize at their age," he emphasized. "I trust that the students of Gwangju Jeil High School would accept that apology. History must be studied accurately."

Previously, on the 29th of last month, during the 81st Blue Dragon National High School Baseball Championship held at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul, some student players from Baejae High School faced criticism for mocking the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement by shouting slogans such as "Let's go to Starbucks" and "Tank Day" toward the Gwangju Jeil High School dugout. Following the incident, Baejae High School issued an official apology, and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has begun an investigation into the facts.

Prior to this, singer JK Kim Dong-uk shared a news article regarding Baejae High School on his social media and sparked further controversy by writing, "They really got triggered. Are they really blowing this out of proportion as just a happening that occurred while kids were playing baseball?" and adding, "The atrocities of the far-left who target people. It's a trashy sentiment that needs to disappear."

JK Kim Dong-uk, a Canadian citizen, was previously at the center of controversy during the Starbucks "Tank Day" marketing incident when he wrote, "I don't even go there often, so why are you making me want to go and bothering me?"