KBS·KTV Side "Will Do Their Best to Prevent Recurrence"
KBS and KTV, which caused controversy by incorrectly displaying Korean subtitles during the Hangul Day celebration performance, received a legal sanction of 'disciplinary action against responsible personnel' from the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC).
On the 25th, the KCSC held a plenary meeting at the Broadcasting Hall in Mokdong, Yangcheon-gu, and made this decision.
Earlier, on October 9th, KBS 1TV and KTV broadcast the '578th Hangul Day Celebration Ceremony' and displayed subtitles that mistakenly wrote 'giyeok' as 'gieok' and 'digeut' as 'dieut'.
Representatives from KBS and KTV who attended the hearing stated, "The event planning company initially sent the erroneous draft, and the corrected version was not properly shared. We should have thoroughly checked it, and we apologize for causing social controversy. We will do our best to prevent recurrence."
Broadcast screen of the congratulatory performance at the Hangul Day celebration on October 9. Yonhap News, KBS
Commissioner Kim Jeong-su said, "(KBS) previously had an incident on Liberation Day where the opera 'Madama Butterfly' featured the Japanese national anthem Kimigayo and kimono costumes, and now a Hangul-related incident occurred on Hangul Day, which is a serious matter." He added, "After the Liberation Day incident, they should have reflected more and taken measures, but another incident occurred within two months, making legal sanctions unavoidable."
Commissioner Kang Kyung-pil also criticized, "It is an unacceptable situation that such incidents occurred on public and state broadcasters on Hangul Day."
Chairman Ryu Hee-rim pointed out, "KBS, which administers the Korean Language Proficiency Test, made subtitle mistakes that even elementary school students in Korea do not make." All three commissioners recommended 'disciplinary action against responsible personnel.'
The KCSC also decided on disciplinary action against SBS Sports for airing alcohol advertisements during restricted television advertising hours. For the same issue, MBC TV and Sky Sports received a 'warning.'
Additionally, the KCSC issued a warning to MBC TV's '2 o'clock News Extra' (June 12 last year) for incorrectly labeling People Power Party floor leader Yoon Jae-ok as 'floor spokesperson,' and for misreporting the semiconductor factory design data leak case by stating '7 indicted' instead of '7 arrested,' without issuing corrections or apologies during the broadcast.
Seoul Economic TV's 'SEN Economic Live' (March 22), which excessively promoted advertisements for the Genesis G90 and Honda 6th generation CR-V hybrid vehicles, also received a warning.
The KCSC's decisions are categorized as 'no problem,' administrative guidance stages such as 'suggestion' and 'recommendation,' and legal sanctions including 'warning,' 'caution,' 'program correction/modification/suspension or disciplinary action against responsible personnel,' and 'fine.' Legal sanctions are considered serious penalties as they are applied as demerit points during broadcaster license renewals and approvals.
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