"That employee has already resigned." Lotte bows its head again over controversy regarding far-right community expressions in a club video... Roh Moo-hyun Foundation urges prevention of recurrence

*This content was translated by AI.

Professional baseball club Lotte Giants bowed its head again over a controversy involving derogatory remarks about the late President Roh Moo-hyun on the club's YouTube channel.

The Roh Moo-hyun Foundation stated on the 13th, "We express deep regret over the derogatory expressions regarding President Roh Moo-hyun on the official YouTube channel of Lotte Giants. We also urge the preparation of thorough measures to prevent recurrence."

Earlier, on the 11th, a video of Lotte's victory over the Busan KIA Tigers on the 10th was released on the club's official YouTube channel, "Giants TV." With Lotte leading 5-2, one out, and a runner on first base, Yoon Dong-hee hit a double to left field, creating a scoring opportunity. The scene showed Noh Jin-hyuk in the dugout clapping his hands.

The issue lay in the caption describing the scene and its placement. The caption "Infinite applause" was placed after Noh Jin-hyuk's name, partially obscuring it, which sparked controversy. Some baseball fans pointed out that this expression is used by far-right online communities to mock Noh Jeon (President). In response, the Lotte club reportedly explained to the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation that they did not fully recognize the associative possibility of the expression during the filming and editing process.

However, some baseball fans and the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation maintain that this was not a simple mistake. The Roh Moo-hyun Foundation raised its voice, stating, "Considering that this occurred immediately after a game against a Gwangju-based team and just before the anniversary of the the 18th Democratic Uprising and the death anniversary of President Roh Moo-hyun (May 23), this cannot be dismissed as a simple mistake. Countless citizens have already been deeply hurt by this."

Along with this, the foundation urged Lotte to transparently disclose the circumstances of the incident and the results of its internal investigation. The Roh Moo-hyun Foundation conveyed, "We demand that the club conduct a thorough system check covering all aspects of content production and review, establish strong measures to prevent recurrence, impose severe disciplinary action against those responsible for this incident, and publicly disclose the results."

A Lotte club official told StarNews, "Officials from the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation visited before the game on the 12th. At that time, we offered a sincere apology and explained the circumstances."

It is reported that the employee from the agency who caused the controversy has been dismissed. A Lotte club official stated, "The employee was dismissed by the agency itself. However, the club also acknowledges that it was wrong not to be aware of this controversy and has apologized to the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation."

The official further emphasized, "Until now, game-related videos such as dugout cams were uploaded after being reviewed by the agency itself. However, taking this incident as an opportunity, the club will now conduct direct second and third checks. While the club has already reviewed and uploaded non-baseball-related videos, we plan to expand this scope."

Below is the official statement from the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation.

Recently, hate speech derogatory toward President Roh Moo-hyun was exposed on the official YouTube channel of professional baseball club Lotte Giants. The Roh Moo-hyun Foundation expresses deep regret over this incident, where hate terms from a specific community were used without filtering on the official channel of a professional sports club with significant public influence.

The club explained that they did not fully recognize the associative possibility of the expression during the filming and editing process. However, considering that this occurred immediately after a game against a Gwangju-based team and just before the anniversary of the the 18th Democratic Uprising and the death anniversary of President Roh Moo-hyun (May 23), this cannot be dismissed as a simple mistake. Countless citizens have already been deeply hurt by this.

Sports should be a space of peace and harmony where mutual respect is maintained even amidst fierce competition. Mockery and hatred directed at individuals must never be excused as "fun" or "mistakes."

The Lotte Giants club is urged to seriously recognize the severity of this incident and transparently disclose the circumstances and results of the internal investigation. Furthermore, we demand that the club conduct a thorough system check covering all aspects of content production and review, establish strong measures to prevent recurrence, impose severe disciplinary action against those responsible for this incident, and publicly disclose the results.

The Roh Moo-hyun Foundation will continue to firmly respond to indiscriminate hate speech that undermines human dignity and fuels social conflict, taking the lead in creating a mature democratic culture.

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*This content was translated by AI.