Anchor who said 'Bukhan Expo' instead of 'Busan Expo'... KBS "No viewer complaints received"

Correction and Apology in 2 Hours
Ruling Party: "Kim Euicheol Must Resign"

A KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) anchor made a broadcasting error during a news segment by mispronouncing 'Busan Expo' as 'North Korea Expo.' KBS later issued a correction two hours after the incident.

On the 19th, Kang Seong-gyu, the anchor for KBS News 7, reported on President Yoon Seok-yeol's trip to France and Vietnam to promote Busan Expo hosting and economic diplomacy, but misread 'Busan Expo' as 'North Korea Expo.'

KBS anchor Kang Sung-kyu made a broadcasting mistake during the news by saying "North Korea Expo" instead of "Busan Expo."
[Photo by KBS 'News 7 O'clock']

However, no correction or apology was made during the approximately 20 minutes of the news broadcast. Two hours later, KBS issued a correction during the 9 PM news. Anchor Lee So-jung stated, "Earlier on the 7 PM news, while reporting on the president’s visit to Vietnam, the male anchor mistakenly said 'North Korea Expo' instead of 'Busan Expo.' We apologize for this and correct it to 'Busan Expo.'"

The video of the news segment containing the broadcasting error was re-recorded only for the anchor’s part and replaced with the corrected version. Additionally, a notice within the article stated, "The word 'Busan' was misread as 'North Korea' in the first sentence of the anchor’s remarks and was replaced after re-recording."

Regarding this, KBS News Headquarters explained in a statement on the 20th, "The male anchor mispronounced 'Busan Expo' as 'North Korea Expo' at the beginning of his remarks, but correctly referred to 'Busan' in the following sentences."

[Photo by KBS News website capture]

They added, "The production team immediately checked the issue after a staff member pointed out the mispronunciation within the department. Upon confirming the mistake, an apology and correction were issued during the next news broadcast, ‘News 9,’ and the online replay was updated. During this time, there were no viewer complaints or calls. The claim in some articles that viewers flooded with complaints during the 7 PM news or within the two-hour window and that no correction or apology was made is completely false," reiterating their position.

They continued, "KBS believes that promptly and honestly correcting errors is fundamental to public broadcasting journalism, and we strive to uphold this principle. However, we sincerely apologize once again to our viewers for this mistake."

Meanwhile, Ahn Byung-gil, a member of the People Power Party, called for the resignation of KBS President Kim Ui-cheol on Facebook in relation to the incident.

He said, "President Yoon Seok-yeol, myself, and countless others have come to France with a do-or-die spirit to achieve the nationwide support for hosting the Expo. However, seeing the news that a KBS public broadcaster anchor misread 'Busan Expo' as 'North Korea Expo,' a pathetic broadcasting error that should never happen even in local stations, leaves me utterly disheartened."

He added, "I cannot tolerate KBS’s behavior of trying to brush off this major mistake with a belated and formal apology. Reform of the clueless public broadcaster KBS is necessary, and the reason for separating the license fee payment has become even clearer."

He further asserted, "KBS President Kim Ui-cheol, who caused fatal damage to the nationwide effort to host the Busan Expo, must directly apologize to the public and immediately step down."

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