"Concerns Over Copycat Crime of Min Seol-ah Assault" Penthouse Receives 'Warning' Sanction

KCSC Legal Sanction 'Warning' Penalty
"Frequent Exposure to Excessive Violent Scenes Among Adolescents"

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The SBS drama 'Penthouse' received a legal sanction of 'warning' from the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) due to excessive exposure of violent scenes involving the teenage character Min Seol-ah.

On the 16th, the Broadcasting Review Subcommittee of the KCSC stated, "The frequent depiction of excessive violent scenes involving teenagers exposed young viewers to the risk of copycat crimes," and issued a warning.

The KCSC said, "The broadcast content containing violent scenes was rebroadcast during the youth protection viewing hours, and the internal self-regulation system of the broadcaster was undermined, making the violation of review regulations severe and legal sanctions unavoidable." According to the KCSC announcement, 'Penthouse' aired scenes where middle school students kidnapped their same-age private tutor to a scrapyard, hit his head and cheeks, poured alcohol on him, confined him in a car, and took photos of his terrified expression.

Legal sanctions, which result in point deductions in the Korea Communications Commission's broadcast evaluation, are finally decided at the full meeting of the KCSC, composed of all nine review committee members, based on recommendations from the subcommittee.

Meanwhile, the Broadcasting Review Subcommittee decided to issue administrative guidance in the form of 'recommendations' for MBC variety show Chuseok special 'Bolbbalgan Ramen Research Lab Part 2' and tvN's 'Sixth Sense' for broadcasting subtitles containing profanity, vulgar expressions, and mixed English terms. They also issued a 'recommendation' to Channel A's 'News A' for broadcasting content that could mislead viewers into believing there were issues with the Justice and Memory Foundation's donation execution or accounting.

Additionally, administrative guidance in the form of 'opinions' was decided for KBS-1AM's 'Joo Jin-woo Live' and tbs (Traffic Broadcasting) FM's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' for broadcasting content that appeared to mock or ridicule the news of a former president's imprisonment. Regarding tbs TV's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory Parts 1 and 2,' which displayed subtitles of partial public opinion poll results prohibited from disclosure under relevant laws, it was decided to hold a hearing for 'statement of opinion' before further review.

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