Controversy Over Child Sexual Abuse in 'Gyeolhon Jiok'... Viewers Flood with Calls for Cancellation

A scene where the new father makes physical contact despite the young daughter's refusal... "Neglect of Child Abuse"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Ju-hee] The couple counseling entertainment program MBC's 'Oh Eun-young Report Season 2 - Gyeolhon Jiok (Marriage Hell)' has been engulfed in a child sexual abuse controversy, leading to a flood of viewer demands for the program's cancellation.

Viewers are demanding the program's cancellation, saying it "neglected child abuse," after airing scenes where a stepfather repeatedly makes physical contact despite the young daughter expressing her dislike.

Marriage Hell is produced by filming the daily lives of families experiencing conflict in advance, and then the couples appearing in the studio along with broadcast panelists monitor the footage together. The problematic scene appeared in episode 20 of Marriage Hell, which aired on the 19th. The story of a wife with a 7-year-old daughter from a previous marriage was introduced. Before monitoring the daily footage, the wife confided to the panelists that she had reported her husband (stepfather) for child abuse.

MBC entertainment program 'Oh Eun-young Reforce - Marriage Hell'./MBC

The scene then shifts to footage of the family’s daily life, showing the stepfather making physical contact with the daughter. The stepfather explains his behavior as 'an expression of affection,' 'because I love her,' and 'because the child's reactions are amusing.'

However, the daughter still calls the stepfather 'uncle,' excludes him from family drawings, and shows emotional distance. When asked why she did not draw the stepfather, the child says, "I didn’t draw him because he bothers me."

Dr. Oh Eun-young, who hosts the broadcast, advises, "The child should be happy; I should not pursue what makes me happy." However, the next day, the viewer message board was flooded with complaints that airing the problematic scene itself was unpleasant. Viewers expressed anger in their complaints, saying, "Broadcasting such scenes promotes and condones child abuse," and "Cancel the program."

Child says "No," stepfather calls it "affection"... Scene aired as is

Article 45, Paragraph 2 of the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) 'Broadcasting Review Regulations' stipulates that "Broadcasts must not air scenes where the physical safety and emotional stability of child and adolescent participants are seriously at risk, and appropriate protection must be taken considering the age of child and adolescent participants to prevent mental distress or anxiety caused by participation or appearance in broadcast programs."

Since Marriage Hell is rated for viewers aged 15 and older, including minors, there are criticisms that the program should have been more cautious to avoid including provocative scenes. Despite the seriousness of the issue, such as the wife reporting the husband (stepfather) for child abuse amid parenting conflicts, there was insufficient consideration.

Following the protests, MBC deleted the scene from its replay service. However, as of 9:50 a.m. on the 21st, the scene is still viewable on OTT (online video streaming service) platforms such as Wavve when playing the broadcast from the 19th. Apart from deleting the scene from the replay service, MBC has not yet issued any further statements.

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