Baek Seongjae and Jegal Seongryeol: "No Biased Commentary on Kim Bo-reum in Pyeongchang" [Olympics]

"Heartbroken and Regretful Over the Difficult Times Experienced"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics speed skating team pursuit event, the SBS commentators who were criticized and asked to apologize for their remarks about Kim Bo-reum (Gangwon Province Office) officially stated that there was no biased commentary. On the 19th, ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics speed skating mass start broadcast, caster Bae Seong-jae said, "With the verdict regarding Kim Bo-reum and Noh Seon-yeong, there has been talk recalling the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics broadcast from four years ago," adding, "The full broadcast video is available on YouTube. There was no biased commentary, nor was there any intention of such." Analyst Jegal Seong-ryeol also said, "As a commentator and ice skating expert, I provided commentary on the team pursuit, and there was no biased commentary for any reason," and added, "Kim Bo-reum has overcome many hardships and stood again in Beijing. I want to express my great joy and gratitude. I hope she delivers a beautiful race."

Caster Bae and analyst Jegal criticized Kim Bo-reum and Park Ji-woo (Gangwon Province Office) for not looking after their teammate when they crossed the finish line far ahead of Noh Seon-yeong during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics team pursuit event. After the race, Kim Bo-reum was labeled as the perpetrator of ostracism during the race and faced harsh criticism. In response, Kim Bo-reum filed a damages lawsuit against Noh Seon-yeong and recently won part of the case. The government’s investigation reaffirmed that there was no "ostracism during the race," freeing Kim from the stigma of being the perpetrator that had been imposed on her. Consequently, some fans demanded an apology from the SBS commentators ahead of the mass start event in which Kim Bo-reum was participating. While clearly stating that there was no biased commentary, caster Bae expressed, "I feel deeply saddened and regretful about the difficult times she went through."

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