[Anchor]

A dialect phrase used by a member of the girl group RESCENE, who hails from Geoje, Gyeongsangnam-do, has sparked a political controversy. As claims emerged that the expression is associated with an extreme right-wing online community, criticism is mounting against what many see as an attempt to conduct an ideological vetting based on a single word.

Reporter Park Chan-beom has the story.

[Reporter]

This is a conversation between Woni, a member of the five-member girl group RESCENE who is from Geoje, Gyeongsangnam-do, and a producer in a YouTube video.

[(It's scary, no.) It's scary. Even the lighting is scary.]

After the video was released on June 28, claims were raised that adding the suffix 'no' to the end of a sentence is a way to mock the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, a practice associated with the extreme right-wing community 'Ilbe'.

A producer at a broadcasting station in the Gyeongsang region wrote on social media that they were "upset to hear 'no, no' being exchanged," labeling it as "hate speech."

These claims have since spread into the political sphere.

Cho Kuk, former leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, posted on social media on July 5, along with a table titled "How to Distinguish" created by someone else, which claims that "Ilbe users mechanically attach 'no' to the end of standard Korean sentences." He further argued yesterday that "young people should realize that using 'no' in questions is an incorrect form of hate speech and should stop using it."

In response, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, criticized the move as an attempt to conduct ideological vetting based on a single sentence ending.

[Lee Jun-seok / Leader of the Reform Party: I am worried that a promising entertainer might lose her unique character, either voluntarily or involuntarily, due to the unreasonable scolding of former leader Cho Kuk.]

Within the People Power Party, Supreme Council member Woo Jae-jun, who is also from the Yeongnam region, stated that it is a common sentence ending used in various ways in the local dialect and that he does not believe there was any political intent. From the Democratic Party, former full-time deputy spokesperson Ha Heon-gi also refuted Cho Kuk's claim, stating, "You cannot judge someone solely based on a single sentence ending."

Comedian Kim Si-deok, who gained popularity through Gyeongsang dialect comedy, expressed his displeasure, saying, "Putting an 'Ilbe frame' on a regional dialect is completely wrong."

On June 29, the National Institute of Korean Language's 'Online Ganada' service responded to an inquiry about whether the 'no' ending is a corrupted dialect, stating that it is "defined as a sentence-ending suffix used to express questions in the Gyeongsang regional dialect," and added that "opinions vary among scholars, so it cannot be definitively concluded."

While Cho Kuk and others argue that they are pointing this out to educate young people who may use the 'Ilbe expression' without knowing its origins, there is growing criticism that politicians are branding a young entertainer and engaging in ideological vetting over a single word.

(Video reporting: Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan | Video editing: Park Sun-soo | Design: Hwang Se-yeon)