KCSC Evaluates 'Running Man' for Editing Mistake in Recent Episode

Following a session on September 21, the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) finalized its decision and agreed to suggest a variety of propositions and endorsements for the recent episode of "Running Man," which had a mistaken usage of an offensive term.

In a report, allkpop wrote that the problematic offensive term had appeared on the September 4 episode of "Running Man" on SBS. The term was said to be a spelling mistake of the team name of Gary and Woon Jae. The members called the team "Gae Woon Jae."

However, because of an editing mistake, the supposed team name "Gaw Woon Jae" was spelled as "Gae Woon Ji." Issues arose because "Woon Ji" likely means "falling to death" in the Korean language. The term is also linked to the extremist right wing Ilbe and a supposed insult to the former Korean President Roh Moo Hyun. Roh committed suicide by jumping off a cliff.

SBS explained its side to KCSC saying, "It was possible for us to have been confused by the use of nicknames on that episode. Furthermore, we had spent two consecutive nights editing, so the mistake occurred due to a bunch of factors such as exhaustion and low levels of concentration. We will try to improve this system in the future."

As for the KCSC, the majority of its members said, "We have to take this incident as the simple mistake that it is. It is not a probable explanation that a variety of program meant purely for entertainment purposes would intentionally derogate a deceased person. However, it is true that the mistake was made, so rather than imposing any sanctions, we believe it best to offer the necessary guidance."

There were also others who stated, "We can regard the first two times a mistake, but SBS has had similar occurrences seven to eight times now, which cannot be deemed a simple mistake. We should listen to the opinions of the variety show's production team."

In a separate report, allkpop mentioned that since 2013, "Ilbe" terms have appeared on SBS shows such as "sports News," "8 O'Clock News," "Capture the Moment How is that Possible," "Late Night TV Entertainment," and more.