On the 13th, broadcaster Jaejae, who attended the Baeksang Arts Awards, performed by picking up and eating chocolate during the ceremony. Photo by Broadcast Screen Capture
[Asia Economy Reporter Joo-mi Lee] Broadcaster Jaejae has been embroiled in a controversy over misogyny, and a national petition has been raised requesting a ban on Jaejae's appearances on terrestrial broadcasts.
On the 19th, a petition titled "Please ban broadcaster Jaejae from appearing on terrestrial broadcasts" was posted on the Blue House national petition board.
The petitioner claimed that Jaejae does not maintain a neutral stance as a journalist. Referring to the recent controversy over misogyny, the petitioner pointed out, "I believe that Jaejae, who has shown great interest in women's rights issues and has proactively produced women's issue content for SBS News, could not have been unaware of this."
They continued, "During an interview with the press in 2018, Jaejae used a term derived from the male-hating community 'Megalia,' and is still involved in many controversies," emphasizing, "These incidents serve as evidence supporting the claim that Jaejae is a male-hater."
The petitioner also mentioned the 2018 sexual assault accusation case involving YouTuber Yang Ye-won. They stated, "In May 2018, YouTuber Yang Ye-won revealed the crime she suffered, which became a public controversy. At that time, the media and police hastily labeled the studio manager accused as the perpetrator without proper verification, ignoring the rights of one individual."
They added, "SBS News and broadcaster Jaejae also failed to maintain neutrality as the media and greatly contributed to the spread of Yang Ye-won's false agitation," criticizing them.
A Blue House petition requesting a ban on Jaejae's appearances on terrestrial broadcasts. Photo by Blue House petition board capture
They further said, "It is a distressing reality in South Korea today that a serious male-hater like Jaejae is thriving openly on terrestrial broadcasts," and requested, "I petition to ban Jaejae from appearing on broadcasts."
The petition had garnered over 38,000 signatures as of 9:30 a.m. on the 21st, just two days after posting.
Earlier, on the 13th, Jaejae was caught up in a misogyny controversy at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards ceremony for the act of picking up and eating chocolate with fingers. It was pointed out that Jaejae's gesture resembled a symbol used in the female-centered community 'Megalia' to disparage Korean men.
Jaejae's side explained that the performance had nothing to do with misogyny.
The production team of SBS web content "Civilization Express," hosted by Jaejae, stated on the 17th, "Jaejae and the entire 'Civilization Express' production team are greatly embarrassed that a natural act of picking up and eating chocolate has escalated into a specific controversy," adding, "It is clearly different from any particular hand gesture or shape and is completely unrelated."
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