"Image Washing?"... Baek Jong-won's New Variety Show Sparks Debate Over 'Former Juvenile Offender' Appearance

Criticism Over Appearance of 'No. 9 Disposition Juvenile Thief'
"Could Be Survival Theft" Responses Delaying Judgment

Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea, is set to appear in ENA's new variety show "Baek Jong-won's Les Mis?rables," which has sparked controversy due to the participation of juvenile offenders.

Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea.

ENA recently released the second teaser for the growth cooking variety show "Les Mis?rables" on their YouTube channel, featuring 20 challengers learning the secrets of business from CEO Baek Jong-won and four homeroom chefs over 100 days. The first teaser introduced homeroom chefs including Chef Kim Min-sung, Chef David Lee, Chef Lim Tae-hoon, and Chef Yoon Nam-no, drawing significant attention. Notably, many chefs who appeared on the Netflix cooking variety show "The Great Chef: Cooking Class War" also participated, garnering great interest.

'Baek Jong-won's Les Mis?rables' 1st teaser. [Image source=YouTube channel 'ENA' capture]

However, the atmosphere shifted from excitement to criticism due to the backgrounds of some of the 20 challengers revealed in the second teaser. The teaser video suggests the appearance of a "juvenile thief with a disposition number 9." Juvenile offenders receive dispositions numbered from 1 to 10, with number 9 being the second most severe punishment.

Netizens had expected the program to help those who failed to become self-reliant despite their efforts, such as failed small business owners, the extremely poor, and people with disabilities, but expressed disappointment over the revealed cast's backgrounds. Comments included, "They are equating a juvenile thief with disposition number 9 to unfortunate people," "Disposition numbers 9 to 10 are given only for acts that make you wonder if a human could do such things. Receiving disposition number 9 for theft means ruining not only the victim's life but also the lives around the victim," "Victims of theft would be angry to see this," "Why help the perpetrator instead of the victim?" "There are people in equally difficult situations who are striving and longing for opportunities," and "Is this a show to wash the criminal record already?"

On the other hand, some argued, "The repeated livelihood thefts might have led to the number 9 disposition," and "Since it is a broadcast, some level of verification must have been done," suggesting trust in the purpose of "Les Mis?rables" and the need to hear more about the stories.

Poster of the entertainment program 'Song For You' aired on SBS in 2013.
[Image source=SBS]

Meanwhile, this is not the first program aimed at rehabilitating juvenile delinquents. SBS's "Song For You," aired in 2013, was also produced with the purpose of rehabilitating the bottom 3% of juvenile delinquents in South Korea. Particularly, criticism arose after it was revealed that the perpetrator of the "Apgujeong Rolls-Royce incident"?who drove a Rolls-Royce into pedestrians on the sidewalk in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul, last August and fled the scene?was a cast member of "Song For You," highlighting the failure of rehabilitation.

The man was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the first trial for charges including hit-and-run causing death but had his sentence reduced to 10 years in the July appeal trial. Separately, he was also indicted for violating the Narcotics Control Act and received an additional 2-year prison sentence in August. The appeal trial is currently ongoing.