Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Reporter apologizes for 'unprofessional' interview with Italian footballer
Announcer Lee Hye-sung holds a press pass for the exhibition match between Italian football club Juventus and Korean professional K League players, held at Seoul World Cup Stadium. She uploaded a statement, Monday, apologizing for her interview with Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon that many upset viewers deemed “unprofessional.” Screen capture from Instagram
By Lee Gyu-lee
By Lee Gyu-lee
KBS announcer Lee Hye-sung apologized for neglecting and confusing Korean viewers after a puzzling interview with Italian football player Gianluigi Buffon, Friday.
“I apologize for causing trouble for the viewers with my unprofessional interview after the Juventus game on July 26,” she posted on Instagram, Monday.
There were some raised eyebrows from viewers when Lee, 28, had a brief interview with the Italian goalkeeper Buffon after the exhibition match between Italian professional football club Juventus and Korean professional K League players at Seoul World Cup Stadium. In a 90-second interview, Lee asked him questions in English, to which he responded in Italian. The translator then interpreted his answers in Korean, resulting in an interview conducted in three different languages.
Considering the interview was aired for Korean viewers, the sports commentator translated Lee's questions into Korean. Lee's interview caused the ire of football fans watching the game.
Some said Lee had no reason to speak English with a Korean translator standing next to them.
Fans ― who were already fed up with the game's hour-long delay and football star Cristiano Ronaldo's no-show on the field as he sat on the bench the whole game ― found her actions inappropriate and claimed that she didn't know what she was doing.
“If she wanted to show off her English proficiency, she should've done it somewhere else. This is not an English-speaking competition,” a user wrote in reply to an online video clip of the interview.
Another user wrote, “She ignored the viewers. She ignored our native tongue, she even ignored the translator standing right there with them.”
Buffon answers Lee's questions after the match. Screen capture from NaverTV
Later that day, she commented on people's reactions on the radio show that she hosts. “I saw the comments. Before the interview I asked Buffon if he can speak English and he told me he can understand it well,” she said.
She explained that she tried to make the most of her time by not having to translate the questions for the interviewee.
“I thought I would have time for one or two questions but was able to ask three questions. I understand (what viewers commented). I insisted on speaking English to hear more from Buffon.”
Her excuse, however, didn't calm down angry football fans.
But as the backlash continued, Lee released an apology through Instagram and reiterated why she interviewed him in English at the time. “Due to the shortage in time, I asked permission to ask questions in English to eliminate the step of translating questions for the player, but it was my fault for not taking further consideration of the fans,” she wrote.
“As an announcer of the public network, I will show more responsibility and love for our native language.”
Lee started her career as an announcer at KBS in 2016 and has been appearing on multiple TV shows including the primetime news program. Last year, she joined the entertainment news program “Entertainment Weekly” as the main co-host with actor Shin Hyun-joon.