"Are You Sane?"... Controversy Over Using 'Gwangju Disaster' Footage in Penthouse Building Collapse Scene

An allegation has been raised that footage of the Gwangju demolition building collapse disaster site was shown in the building collapse scene in the drama 'Penthouse 3'.
[Photo by Penthouse 3, SBS 8 o'clock News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Allegations have been raised that the drama 'Penthouse 3' aired footage from the Gwangju demolition building collapse disaster site during a building collapse scene. There are also allegations that scenes showing disaster victims taking refuge in an auditorium during the Pohang earthquake were used, sparking intense controversy.

In the SBS drama 'Penthouse 3' aired on the 3rd, there was a scene where the character Joo Dan-tae uses a bomb to collapse Hera Palace.

Although the building collapse scene was handled with CG, the news footage shown after the collapse incident became problematic. It was alleged that 'Penthouse 3' used footage that SBS 8 o'clock News aired in June, showing the Gwangju building collapse accident site.

The Gwangju building collapse accident occurred on June 9th in the redevelopment area of Hak-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju. A five-story building under demolition collapsed, crushing a city bus, resulting in 9 deaths and 8 serious injuries among the passengers.

'Penthouse 3' added captions such as "Fire authorities will take more than two weeks to clear the debris" and "Joo Dan-tae, who installed the bomb, is familiar with the internal structure" to the accident footage and aired it.

After the broadcast, numerous protest posts were uploaded on the 'Penthouse 3' viewer board. Viewers criticized, saying, "Are you out of your mind?", "The bereaved families are still grieving and suffering," and "Formally apologize to the bereaved families."

An allegation has been raised that the drama 'Penthouse 3' used actual footage of disaster victims taking refuge in an auditorium during the 2017 Pohang earthquake.
[Photo by Penthouse 3]

There are also allegations that 'Penthouse 3' used actual footage showing disaster victims who took refuge in an auditorium during the 2017 Pohang earthquake.

One viewer, claiming to be related to the Pohang earthquake, pointed out, "No matter how much I look, the building structure is the same, so I looked closely and from the left in order, the blue basketball hoop, two entrances, the air conditioner at the second-floor stairway, the restroom on the far right, and even the auditorium stage (are exactly the same)."

In response, 'Penthouse 3' has not issued any particular statement. The replay service for episode 13, which sparked the controversy, has been suspended.

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