Woo Sang-ho on PD who stepped down amid ruling party protests: "It was a bit overdone... The broadcasting station handled it themselves"

"Satire, Political Commentary Beyond Asking Not to Vote for a Specific Candidate"
PD Lee Jae-ik Hopes for Freedom of Democratic Broadcasting on Blog

Woo Sang-ho, Chief Election Strategy Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Woo Sang-ho, the general election campaign committee chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, evaluated Lee Jae-ik, an SBS PD who recently stepped down from his broadcasting host position following protests from the Democratic Party, by saying, "This time, it seems a bit over the top."

On the 8th, Woo appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said, "It went beyond satire or a certain level of political commentary to the point of telling people not to vote for a specific candidate, so it was a bit excessive."

He added, "It is true that the Democratic Party conveyed their protests, but they did not make specific demands such as canceling the program. The broadcasting station handled it on their own."

Previously, Lee PD, who had been hosting SBS Radio's 'Lee Jae-ik's Current Affairs Special Forces,' announced on the 6th that he was stepping down due to protests from the Democratic Party.

The controversy arose on the 4th when Lee PD mentioned the lyrics of the song 'Na Ireon Saramiya' by singer DJ DOC during the broadcast.

At that time, Lee PD sang along to the lyrics, "You're lenient with me but rude to others, blocking with this card and that card," and said, "The lyrics are meaningful. You should never vote for such a person. I did not say who among the four this person is. You probably have someone in mind when you hear these lyrics."

PD Lee Jae-ik hosted SBS Radio's 'Lee Jae-ik's Current Affairs Special Forces' / Photo by SBS

However, it was reported that the Democratic Party protested against Lee PD's remarks.

Regarding this, Lee PD wrote on his blog on the 6th, "The direction I intended was a criticism of 'naeronambul' (double standards). I did not mention or hint at any specific candidate's name," and added, "Over the weekend, protests came from the Democratic Party side. They said it was a complaint about unfair broadcasting targeting candidate Lee Jae-myung."

He continued, "Although I am stepping down, I hope that in 2022, a democratic country's broadcasting will guarantee that level of tolerance and freedom."

On the 8th, when the host of 'Focus' asked, "It doesn't seem like you mentioned a specific candidate or party," Woo replied, "During the presidential election, there are various disputes between the ruling and opposition parties related to broadcasting, but this is the first time I've seen a broadcast explicitly saying you should not vote for this candidate," and questioned, "If he had implied candidate Yoon Seok-youl and said you should not vote for him, do you think the People Power Party would have stayed silent?"

He added, "During the presidential election period, it is not good to imply a specific candidate and tell people not to vote for them," and emphasized, "It is fine to present standards asking the public to make the right choice, but this time it was a bit over the top."

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