Courtesy of Attrakt
The SBS investigative program "Unanswered Questions" received a government warning on Tuesday for its alleged "biased portrayal" of the dispute between K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty and their agency, Attrakt, which was featured in an episode aired last year.
The warning was issued by the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), the country's media regulator. Viewers raised complaints about the program's biased representation, prompting SBS to remove all related videos from its YouTube channel.
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| ▲ Fifty Fifty / Courtesy of Attrakt |
The production team argued that they had obtained permission to air footage from the three main stakeholders: Attrakt, CEO of content company The Givers Ahn Sung-il, and the members of Fifty Fifty. Expressing regret that Attrakt's CEO did not make an appearance in the episode, the team stated they had no plans for a follow-up episode due to the ongoing lawsuit and emotional distress among the members.
The KCSC committee, including head Ryu Hee-lim and members Moon Jae-wan and Lee Jung-ok, supported the decision to issue a warning to SBS. A warning, a formal and legal penalty, could lead to further restrictions or licensing issues if multiple warnings are received by the broadcaster.
Committee member Moon expressed concerns about the fairness doctrine violation and the potential defamation of involved parties. Another member, Lee, noted that the failure to issue a stand-in notice indirectly misled viewers, while committee head Ryu emphasized the significant social disruption caused by the program.
Legal sanctions were deemed inevitable by the committee despite the removal of the episode and the subsequent apology from the "Unanswered Questions" production team.
Sayart
Kang In sig, insig6622@naver.com
