"Claim of 'Emergency Financial Order Issued After Election, Payment After 2 Months'"
Honorary Representative Heo Kyung-young of the National Revolutionary Party's presidential campaign poster titled 'Heo Kyung-young Game' posted on his Facebook / Photo by Heo Kyung-young Facebook capture
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Heo Kyung-young, Honorary Representative of the National Revolutionary Party who declared his candidacy for the presidential election, proposed to pay 100 million won to those who suffered from the exposure of their phone numbers in the drama "Squid Game."
On the 26th, Heo wrote on his Facebook, "I heard that the owner of the phone number exposed on the business card in 'Squid Game' is suffering serious prank calls," and said, "I will buy that number for 100 million won. 'Heo Kyung-young Game' is possible if you change your mind."
He added, "Instead of calling ordinary people and making things difficult, participate in the Heo Kyung-young Game," and claimed, "The rules are simple. After being elected (president), an emergency financial order will be issued, and 100 million won will be paid within two months."
"Squid Game," released through Netflix, is a drama depicting poor people risking their lives in a survival game competing for prize money. The drama is currently extremely popular, topping trending search terms on domestic and international websites. However, controversy arose when it was revealed that a real person's phone number was exposed in a specific scene from a past episode.
In the scene where the main character, played by actor Lee Jung-jae, receives an invitation to "Squid Game" and reports it to the police, eight digits of a real phone number, excluding the 010 prefix, appeared on Lee Jung-jae's mobile phone screen without any significant editing.
Promotional poster for the Netflix original drama 'Ojingeo Game'. This drama became controversial as a regular person's phone number was exposed in a specific scene. / Photo by Netflix
Those whose phone numbers were exposed are reported to have suffered greatly from prank calls. Victim A said in an interview with SBS on the 24th, "Since the number was exposed, thousands of calls have been pouring in since last week," and lamented receiving abusive and prank calls, as well as absurd text messages saying "I want to participate in Squid Game."
Additionally, A claimed that the drama production company admitted the mistake and offered several million won in compensation for damages.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time that Representative Heo has mentioned Squid Game while putting forward an "absurd pledge." On the 20th, he posted a promotional poster parodying Squid Game called "Heo Kyung-young Game" on his Facebook, writing, "The rules of the game are simple. Will you struggle with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, or will you receive 100 million won and 1.5 million won monthly?"
He also claimed, "Heo Kyung-young exists. If Heo Kyung-young is elected with more than 50% of the vote, he will send lawmakers to a mental education camp and pay 100 million won to all citizens aged 18 and over."
Representative Heo held a "presidential election launch ceremony" in front of Haengju Fortress in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, on the 19th of last month, announcing his intention to run for president. At the time, he appeared in front of the Haengju Fortress victory gate wearing armor and riding a white horse, appealing for support by saying, "There is no hope for regime change unless it is Heo Kyung-young."
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