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SBS aired a comment from an internet user that belittled the late former President Kim Dae-jung's Nobel Peace Prize award.
[Photo by Online Community Capture]

SBS sparked controversy by displaying a comment that seemed to belittle the late former President Kim Dae-jung, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, in a news video reporting novelist Han Kang's Nobel Prize in Literature win. Following the backlash, SBS promptly deleted the video and issued an apology.

On the 10th, SBS uploaded a special report video titled “[Breaking News] Writing a New Chapter in Korean Literature... Novelist Han Kang Wins Nobel Prize in Literature” on its official YouTube channel. The video was a special report announcing Han Kang as the recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature.

The issue arose from a comment by a netizen featured in the video. The comment, which disparaged former President Kim’s Nobel Peace Prize, read, “No comparison with the Nobel ‘Byeonghwa’ Prize... The supreme dignity of literature is the best!” Netizens criticized SBS, saying, “SBS has defamed the honor of the late former President Kim Dae-jung, who won the Nobel Peace Prize.”

As the controversy spread, on the 11th, SBS stated, “It seems there was an error during the review process due to the rush in sending out the special report,” adding, “Upon recognizing this, we took down the video. The news department has taken strict disciplinary action against those involved,” and apologized.

Despite SBS’s explanation, netizens responded critically, saying things like, “SBS has used images from Ilbe multiple times in news before,” “This doesn’t seem like a mistake,” “It looks very intentional,” “Is there really someone from Ilbe inside?” “How could they make it so obvious?” “They should come out and apologize directly, not just delete the video,” and “Why spoil such good news like this?”

Meanwhile, Han Kang debuted as a novelist in 1994 by winning the Seoul Shinmun New Spring Literary Contest in the novel category with “Red Anchor.” Her representative works include “Love in Yeosu,” “The Fruit of My Woman,” “Your Cold Hands,” “Black Deer,” “The Wind Blows, Go,” and “Greek Lessons.”