Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
TBS urged to fire podcaster for his disparaging remarks about Daegu
By Bahk Eun-ji
Calls are growing for TBS Radio to dismiss Kim Eo-jun, a liberal-minded political commentator who hosts a controversial radio show, for his disparaging remarks about Daegu, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, and its citizens, according to his critics Tuesday.
A petition to remove Kim from the show on a Cheong Wa Dae website has been posted, while a conservative civic group has filed a complaint against him with the National Human Rights Commission, accusing him of violating the human rights of Daegu residents.
Kim Eo-jun /Korea Times file
By Bahk Eun-ji
On an episode of “Kim Eo-jun's News Factory,” a program he hosts on TBS Radio, that aired last Friday, Kim blamed the recent novel coronavirus outbreak on Daegu and followers of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
“If China is responsible for the spread of COVID-19, why is only one out of 100,000 people in the Seoul metropolitan confirmed infected? The numbers tell the truth,” Kim said during the radio show. He then said two face masks are enough for a week, but there are too many people who are anxious about the shortage of masks.
As soon as his remarks were made public, critics say Kim disparaged citizens in Daegu, who have been suffering the most from the virus. On the TBS bulletin board, many postings called for his resignation from the show.
“At this time when many people are especially vulnerable due to the virus outbreak, TBS should think twice whether it is reasonable for them to run such a show instigating regionalism,” wrote a user on the TBS bulletin board.
A person who claimed to have posted the petition, said, “I want to ask him that if the virus outbreak is named Daegu crisis, or Shincheonji Crisis, like he insisted during the show. Do you think the Gwangju Uprising should be called the Gwangju Crisis, instead of the Gwangju Democratization Movement? Kim's biased political view has always been a problem.”
In response to intensifying criticisms, TBS released a statement that said they had no intention to disparage Daegu citizens, but they urged the prosecution, some media, and conservative opposition parties to take measures to put Daegu citizens first.
“The remarks meant that the quarantine measures to protect the people in Daegu should be focused on the area, considering the special nature of the religious group and the region,” TBS official said in a statement.