Wavve under fire for accidentally streaming obscene content in the middle of Pororo

Wavve, a local over-the-top (OTT) platform has come under fire for accidentally streaming obscene content in the middle of “Pororo the Little Penguin” a Korean animation for children. / Screen captured from online community website

By Lee Hyo-jin

Wavve, a local over-the-top (OTT) platform, has come under fire after it accidentally streamed lewd content in the middle of an episode of “Pororo the Little Penguin,” a Korean animation for children.

The inappropriate clip was first spotted by an internet user, Friday, who sounded the alarm on a Naver online community for mothers.

“I was watching the animated movie Pororo: Cyberspace Adventure on Wavve, and three to five seconds of adult video clips popped up in the middle of it. I was so shocked.” the internet user wrote, attaching screen captures.

Several other internet users verified her claim and complained that the streaming platform's customer service team was neither responding nor providing any feedback.

There was a huge backlash from users, especially from those with children. “It is unbelievable that such content was included in videos provided by a paid streaming service and not on some random video posted on YouTube,” wrote a member of a moms' cafe.

Another user expressed concern, saying, “Now I won't be able to leave my child watching Wavve videos alone.” Several users stated they had canceled their monthly subscriptions after the incident, while some demanded refunds.

After a few hours, the OTT service company deleted the problematic movie file and uploaded it again.

The following day, it offered an apology for causing “disturbance and inconvenience” to users, and explained that the incident was due to a “technical error.”

“We assume the clips were accidently included during the uploading process of the movie. We will look further into the issue to uncover the exact details,” read a statement posted on the company's official website.

It also halted streaming services of adult content citing the need to improve operations.

Wavve is an OTT service launched in 2019 by three terrestrial broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, with SK Telecom, which provides subscribers with dramas and entertainment shows in addition to Wavve's original content.