"'Kneel Down and Do Housework' Controversy Over Character of 'Heart Signal 3' Cast Member"

'Heart Signal' Season 3 cast member embroiled in character controversy / Photo by Channel A

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Seul-gi] Channel A's 'Heart Signal' Season 3 has been embroiled in controversy over cast members' school violence and character issues even before its broadcast.

On the 12th, on the anonymous workplace community app 'Blind,' expos?s were posted by netizens claiming to be juniors of former flight attendant A, one of the 'Heart Signal 3' cast members. 'Blind' is an online community that requires workplace verification through email addresses, among other methods, before joining.

Netizen B, who claimed to be a junior of A at university, stated, "It seems everyone is looking forward to 'Heart Signal 3,' but someone who shouldn't be on the show is appearing. This person was notorious for having a terrible character during university days. Everyone has been waiting for this to come out until the broadcast. Yesterday, they even wrote a post and deleted it. Did they not expect this to escalate? Considering what they did in the past, they shouldn't be able to appear. It's only a matter of time before it blows up."

Writer C, who said they attended university with A, claimed, "A verbally abused juniors with harsh words and shouting for not properly greeting them, and one junior even dropped out because of this. At that time, A publicly apologized in front of all grades gathered, but afterward, the bullying of juniors worsened."

They continued, "The level of scolding was beyond what you might imagine. They forced juniors to kneel unconditionally, pointed fingers, verbally abused, and shouted right next to their ears. Sometimes, when more agitated, they pushed shoulders or cursed. Most classmates cried loudly after entering and leaving A's room. When living alone, A called juniors to their place to scold them," adding.

Furthermore, "They made a junior with a cast clean the floor and forced them to do all sorts of chores daily, including laundry, bathroom cleaning, and emptying trash cans every morning. Everything written so far is based on what my classmates and I directly experienced and felt without any falsehoods, and I expect more testimonies to come out," they lamented.

In response, Channel A stated, "We are internally verifying the matter."

Previously, 'Heart Signal' faced similar controversies in earlier seasons. A cast member from Season 1 caused an uproar after being sentenced to prison for sexual assault charges, and a Season 2 cast member was fined for drunk driving.