"Down-to-earth" vs "Gukbap Show"... Heated Debate Over Video of Yoon Seok-yeol Eating Sundaeguk

Meal Scene of Chief Prosecutor Yoon during Tenure as Seoul Central District Prosecutor Chief Sparks Buzz on YouTube

Yoon Seok-yeol, then Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, dining at a restaurant in Heukseok-dong, Seoul. / Photo by YouTube video capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] A heated debate erupted among netizens over a YouTube video capturing Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol dining with staff at a Sundaeguk (Korean blood sausage soup) restaurant. While some netizens supported Prosecutor General Yoon, saying his humble appearance was relatable to ordinary people, others expressed displeasure, suggesting the video might be deliberately promoting him.

Earlier, on the 28th of last month, a YouTuber posted a video titled "Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol met at a Sundaeguk restaurant." The 21-second video shows Yoon Seok-yeol, who was then the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, eating at a Sundaeguk restaurant in Heukseok-dong Market, Dongjak-gu, Seoul. Yoon served as the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office from May 2017 to July 2019.

In the video, Prosecutor General Yoon is seen sitting around a table with Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office staff, having a meal. The YouTuber who uploaded the video explained, "People around were raising their voices saying things like 'Hey, that’s Yoon Seok-yeol, right?' and 'Yes, that’s him,'" adding, "(Yoon) pretended not to hear and quietly focused on eating the Sundaeguk."

He continued, "If it were now, I would be cheering, saying 'Stay strong, Prosecutor General Yoon, and save the country,'" and added, "Today, I shout 'Stay strong, Yoon Seok-yeol' along with his humble image."

The video is just over 21 seconds long, and although Prosecutor General Yoon’s dining scene passes by very briefly, it surpassed 120,000 views as of the 5th, becoming a hot topic.

However, netizens’ reactions to the video were divided. Some defended Prosecutor General Yoon, appreciating his down-to-earth image.

They posted supportive comments such as, "It’s good to see him showing a humble, relatable image without being swayed by the surrounding noise," "A simple image dining at the same table with his driver and secretary," and "Stay strong, Prosecutor General Yoon."

On the other hand, some expressed displeasure, questioning the intention behind making a one-year-old video a topic of discussion now. They argued that praising an old video as showing a humble image was excessive.

One netizen complained, "I don’t understand why a video from over a year ago is suddenly being brought up. Does the Prosecutor General’s dining scene have to become an issue now?" Another strongly criticized it, calling it a "gukbap show" (a derogatory term implying a staged or trivial spectacle).

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