"Kick Out from Broadcasting" Controversy over 'Daegu Incident' Remarks, Petition for Kim Eo-jun's Removal from Cheong Appears

Broadcaster Kim Eo-jun / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Seulgi Kim] A petition demanding the removal of broadcaster Kim Eo-jun from broadcasting has been posted on the Blue House National Petition Board regarding his use of the term "Daegu Incident" to describe the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions.

On the 9th, a petition titled "Request to remove Mr. Kim Eo-jun from TBS broadcasting operated with Seoul citizens' taxes" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board. As of 9 a.m. today, just one day after posting, over 4,000 people have agreed to the petition.

The petitioner stated, "In the difficult situation in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, with medical staff doing their best, and even public health nursing officers in their 20s being sent to Daegu and sacrificing themselves, as a mother of a 20-something child, I was moved to tears," adding, "Just as I cried a lot as a mother of a teenager during the Sewol Ferry disaster, I feel the same way now."

He continued, "However, the words spoken by journalist and broadcaster Kim Eo-jun on TBS Traffic Broadcasting, which is operated with Seoul citizens' taxes, calling it the 'Daegu COVID-19 incident' and 'Shincheonji incident' bring tears to my eyes," and asked, "Is the Gwangju 5.18 Democratization Movement called the Gwangju Incident? Kim Eo-jun's politically biased remarks are nothing new."

He added, "Why doesn't Mayor Park Won-soon make such a person stop? If the mayor continues to harbor such politically biased journalists, all the work done for Seoul citizens will be doubted for its sincerity," and asserted, "I petition for the removal of Kim Eo-jun from TBS, the traffic broadcasting operated with Seoul citizens' taxes."

Earlier, on the 6th, Kim Eo-jun said on his broadcast, "As of yesterday (the 5th), the ratio of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Daegu is one in every 560 Daegu citizens. At this rate, next week it will be one in every 400 or 300 people testing positive in Daegu," adding, "If China was really the problem, why would the metropolitan area with 23 million people have only one confirmed case per 100,000? The numbers clearly show that our COVID-19 situation is both a Daegu incident and a Shincheonji incident."

Kim also added, "Why doesn't the conservative opposition party pressure the prosecution to conduct a forced investigation into Shincheonji as demanded by Daegu citizens? Why is the prosecution not acting? Why doesn't the media criticize them?"

Following the broadcast, on the 8th, conservative groups submitted a petition to the National Human Rights Commission requesting that Kim Eo-jun be advised not to use the term "Daegu Incident" on broadcasts and social network services (SNS).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.