'Historical Distortion Controversy' Seolganghwa... Over 700 Complaints Received Within 3 Days of Broadcast

Blue House National Petition, 340,000 Submissions for the Abolition of Seolganghwa
KCSC Review Scheduled for Mid-January Next Year at the Earliest

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] As the JTBC drama ‘Seolganghwa’ has received over 340,000 petitions on the Blue House’s national petition site for historical distortion, concerns have been raised about the need for a system that allows the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) to conduct swift reviews.

According to data submitted by the KCSC to Yang Jeong-sook, an independent member of the National Assembly’s Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee, on the 26th, the total number of review requests for broadcasts from nine major broadcasters, including terrestrial and comprehensive programming channels, reached 11,089 from January to December 24.

By broadcaster, SBS received the highest number of requests during the same period with 6,533 cases, followed by ▲YTN 1,330 ▲JTBC 1,001 ▲MBC 901 ▲KBS 780 ▲TV Chosun 266 ▲Channel A 170 ▲MBN 82.

Looking at the top five programs with the most broadcast review requests during the same period this year, SBS’s ‘Joseon Exorcist’ accounted for more than 46% of all complaints with 5,174 cases, followed by ▲Evening News (YTN) 1,212 ▲Seolganghwa (JTBC) 869 ▲Penthouse 2 & 3 (SBS) 559 ▲KBS News 9 (KBS) 340 ▲Mr. Queen (tvN) 249. Among these, Seolganghwa received 789 complaints within just three days after its first broadcast on the 18th.

The complaints submitted to the KCSC regarding Seolganghwa mainly focused on historical distortion, such as inappropriate portrayals of relationships between democratization activists and spies, and content that undermines the values of democratization. The petition to stop the broadcast of Seolganghwa, submitted to the Blue House on the 20th, had garnered 340,000 supporters as of the 24th.

However, even if the KCSC proceeds with a review of Seolganghwa, discussions are expected only by mid-January, meaning that as the series progresses beyond 10 episodes, viewer complaints about historical distortion may increase.

Rep. Yang stated, “While broadcasting scheduling should guarantee the creativity and freedom of broadcasters and producers, they must not provide viewers with historically distorted information,” adding, “If the recent JTBC drama Seolganghwa’s distortions regarding democratization and spies are proven true, the KCSC needs to conduct a swift and objective review.”

Rep. Yang also emphasized, “Since the KCSC’s review can only be conducted by mid-January at the earliest, if the historical distortions in Seolganghwa are factual, more than ten episodes of the drama will have been aired with distorted information to viewers. Furthermore, as Seolganghwa is also broadcast globally through the OTT service Disney Plus, it could have worldwide impact. Therefore, it is necessary for the KCSC to establish a special committee that can promptly review broadcast programs providing incorrect information to viewers.”

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