'MBC News Director Resigns Taking Responsibility for Broadcast Incident Amid "Tokyo Olympic Broadcast Controversy"'

MBC used a photo of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant while introducing the Ukrainian delegation entering the opening ceremony of the '2020 Tokyo Olympics.'
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] On the 23rd, MBC announced that Min Byung-woo, the head of the news division, took responsibility and resigned over the controversy caused by inappropriate graphics and subtitles used during the broadcast of the '2020 Tokyo Olympics.'

On the same day (23rd), MBC released a press statement saying, "Head Min expressed his intention to step down taking responsibility for the Tokyo Olympics broadcast accident at the executive meeting on the morning of the 23rd, and President Park Sung-je accepted his resignation."

It added, "Sports Director Song Min-geun was also replaced due to management responsibility, and MBC Plus President Jo Neung-hee and Sports Director Hwang Seung-wook were given a stern warning."

Earlier, on the 23rd of last month, while broadcasting the Olympic opening ceremony, MBC caused controversy by inserting a photo of the Chernobyl nuclear accident when the Ukrainian team entered, mentioning the assassination of the president when introducing Haiti, and referring to Bitcoin when introducing El Salvador, among other inappropriate images.

Additionally, during the broadcast of the men's soccer group stage match between Korea and Romania in Group B's second round, a subtitle saying "Thank you, Marin" was displayed at the top of the screen during a commercial break, targeting the opposing team's Marius Marin who scored an own goal, sparking further controversy. There were also frequent mistakes, such as briefly showing the subtitle "Ahn Se-young bronze medal" when fencer Kim Jung-hwan won the bronze medal, which drew criticism both domestically and internationally.

Park Sung-je, president of MBC, is making a public apology for subtitle errors that occurred during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the men's soccer broadcast at a press conference held on the afternoon of the 26th of last month at MBC in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, MBC formed the 'Tokyo Olympics Broadcast Accident Organizing Committee (Investigation Committee)' and announced the investigation results. The committee pointed out the causes of the accident as ▲lack of awareness of public values and norms such as human rights and respect for other countries ▲insufficient education on broadcasting review regulations and past Olympic cases ▲lack of guidelines and verification systems for broadcasting major international events ▲insufficient scheduling for broadcast production preparation.

The committee stated, "The principle stated in the broadcasting code to 'respect the diversity of human culture and not to insult or belittle other cultures' was not upheld," and added, "Although there was a prior warning from the Korea Communications Standards Commission for the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony broadcast, the recurrence of the same incident is a mistake."

Following the committee's recommendations, MBC announced, "We plan to establish sports production guidelines and verification systems to prevent inappropriate subtitles, photos, and footage from being broadcast due to individual judgment or mistakes." Furthermore, "Taking this opportunity, we will set up the 'MBC Public Broadcasting Enhancement Committee' to review the overall production system and pursue innovation," it added.