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| President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, center, appears on a popular talk show "You Quiz on the Block," hosted by Yoo Jae-suk, left, and Jo Se-ho, right, Tuesday. Captured from Instagram |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's unexpected appearance on a popular TV show stirred controversies over the politicization of entertainment.
Yoon appeared as a guest on a tvN talk show "You Quiz on the Block," Wednesday, sharing his thoughts after being elected as South Korea's next president and talking about his experiences while preparing for the bar exam for over nine years and working as a prosecutor.
During the show, Yoon said his appearance was partly based on his personal intention and partly on advice from his staff as he had heard the show is very popular with the public and his aides suggested it would be useful for him to make an appearance.
The talk show, hosted by top comedian Yoo Jae-suk along with Jo Se-ho, explores the lives of various people in society. The program was originally filmed at various locations, visiting different cities and places to meet a diverse range of people, but changed to an in-studio program after the COVID-19 pandemic began. Since most of the show's guests are everyday people, Yoon's appearance came as quite a shift from the show's typical content.
After the episode featuring Yoon was released, the program's online message board was flooded with opinions from viewers, mostly displeased with his appearance. Currently, the board does not permit general viewers to read posted content and the video clip of Yoon's segment is not available as of Friday afternoon, while video footage of other guests who appeared on the same day are available to view.
Left-wing radio show host Kim Ou-joon debated the issue with Heo Eun-ah, a chief spokesperson for the conservative People Power Party, Thursday.
Kim claimed that Yoon exploited the program for political gain after winning the presidential election, but Heo said Yoon couldn't have appeared without prior arrangement with the broadcaster.
The situation took an unexpected turn when local media reported that President Moon Jae-in tried to make an appearance on the same show, but was declined by the producers. CJ ENM immediately refuted that, adding that they never received such an offer in regards to Moon.
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum also offered to appear on the show last autumn to promote the country's COVID-19 response, but the producers turned him down as well, according to local media.
Tak Hyun-min, protocol secretary for the Moon administration, claimed on his social media that Cheong Wa Dae approached the producers of the show last April, asking for President Moon and other presidential office employees' appearances on the show, but they declined the offer saying that it would go against the program's intention and host Yoo also feeling onerous over having politicians on the show.
Tak criticized the broadcasting station for lying and added that he hopes Yoon appearing on the show was not influenced by any outside pressure.
Some speculate that CJ ENM CEO Kang Ho-sung may be behind Yoon's participation in the show since it screens on a CJ ENM channel. Kang was a prosecutor and lawyer before he joined the entertainment company. Kang studied law at Seoul National University like Yoon and the two briefly worked together at a regional prosecutors' office.
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