Anchor with tangled tongue and pronunciation, really had a daytime drink... Broadcasting station plans disciplinary action

JIBS Jeju Broadcasting news anchor's 'drunken broadcast' suspicion has been confirmed as true. On the 30th of last month, anchor Cho Chang-beom, who hosted JIBS Jeju Broadcasting's '8 News,' showed inaccurate pronunciation and unnatural behavior, prompting strong complaints from viewers.

JIBS Jeju Broadcasting '8 News' anchor Cho Chang-beom. [Image source=JIBS Jeju Broadcasting broadcast screen capture]

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According to JIBS Jeju Broadcasting on the 2nd, it was confirmed that anchor Cho had consumed alcohol during the day of the broadcast. The station is reportedly taking disciplinary action against him. Previously, while delivering news related to the general election, anchor Cho failed to properly pronounce candidates' names, 'candidate-specific pledges,' and 'voting precautions,' and also failed to finish the sentence "Election pamphlet distribution has started." He excessively shrugged his shoulders, and there was a 7-second segment without anchor commentary, which appeared to be a broadcast accident.

As this behavior was transmitted live on air, viewers raised suspicions of a 'drunken broadcast.' After the broadcast, the viewer board on the JIBS Jeju Broadcasting website was flooded with complaints such as "The pronunciation was slurred and his face was flushed red; was he broadcasting under the influence of alcohol?", "He was clearly intoxicated; isn't this mocking the viewers?", and "I suspected a drunken broadcast but hoped otherwise, JIBS is a mess."

[Image source=Captured from JIBS Jeju Broadcasting website]

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Subsequently, the broadcasting station took down the problematic broadcast video from both its website and official YouTube channel without any separate explanation regarding the suspicion. However, on the 1st, a comment was posted on the viewer board saying, "We apologize for causing discomfort to our viewers. JIBS News will strive to improve."

Controversies over drunken broadcasts during live news have occurred in the past as well. In 2008, announcer Lim Kyung-jin, who hosted MBC's 'Sports News,' caused a stir due to a drunken broadcast. At that time, the viewer board was filled with complaints such as "How can someone broadcast while intoxicated? It's outrageous," and "This was not just a broadcast accident; he was truly out of his mind."

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