Lee Sung-min, the 'rudeness' controversy sparked by a clumsy joke [★FOCUS]

*This content was translated by AI.

Actor Lee Sung-min's acceptance speech at the Baeksang Arts Awards has come under scrutiny. Even days after the ceremony concluded, debates over his remarks continue. What is the reason that the remark by Lee Seong-min-ui (수상), "Hye-ran didn't win (the Best Supporting Actress award), so I even got cursed at," escalated into a controversy over rudeness?

On the 8th, Lee Sung-min won the Best Actor award in the film category at the 62nd Baeksang Arts Awards held at COEX D Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, for the film "I Can't Help It."

That day, Lee Sung-min shared the honor of Best Actor with Ryu Seung-beom of "Good News," Park Hae-jun of "Humanity Has a Heart," Yu Ji-tae of "The Man Living with the King," and Jang Yong of "Man and Meat." Lee Sung-min, who took the stage to receive the award amid congratulations from director Park Chan-wook and actors Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin, displayed his happiness with a broad smile. After greeting the audience with "Thank you," Lee Sung-min first mentioned the name of Yeom Hye-ran, who shared the screen as a couple in the film, before delivering his acceptance speech.

Lee Sung-min said, "When Hye-ran was a nominee, I was so nervous. Since Hye-ran didn't win, I even got cursed at," and then added, "It was supposed to be me next, so thank you," while smiling awkwardly. Lee Sung-min smiled brightly, and laughter erupted from the audience.

Considering his expression, tone, and the fact that he mentioned Yeom Hye-ran's name immediately upon reaching the podium, the statement "I even got cursed at" was not Lee Sung-min criticizing Shin Se-kyung for winning instead of Hye-ran or expressing dissatisfaction with the award results. Rather, it was an expression of guilt and awkwardness that while he and Hye-ran had gone through hardships together and shared the screen as a couple, only he had won. He was deeply troubled that Hye-ran, who had shared the hardships with him, did not win while he did.

His remark to director Park Chan-wook and other actors, "I hope you all win the Best Director and Best Actor/Actress awards in the future," was also not an attitude of "passing the buck for the award," but rather a message reflecting his desire for his colleagues to win as well, as he felt guilty winning alone. He also expressed his apologies to Park Hee-soon, who could not attend the ceremony.

While such clumsy language as "I even got cursed at" may have been misinterpreted or misunderstood, it seems excessive to frame Lee Sung-min as 'rude' based solely on that one word.

How did Lee Sung-min's expression of regret for not being able to Yeom Hye-ran-i (수상) get misinterpreted as a criticism of Shin Se-gyeong-ui (수상) or an expression of dissatisfaction with the award results? It seems that the very image of Lee Sung-min, a senior male actor in his 50s in the film industry, mentioning Shin Se-gyeong-ui (수상), a junior female actress, while receiving support from director Park Chan-wook, Lee Byung-hun, and Son Ye-jin, felt uncomfortable to some members of the public. If read only as text, that might be the case.

However, in reality, no criticism can be read from Lee Sung-min's remarks. Lee Sung-min is well-known for taking good care of his juniors. Judging by his past attitudes and actions, while the phrase "I even got cursed at" might have been a joke lacking in wit and somewhat uncomfortable, it is questionable whether it warranted a controversy of being not just careless but rude for several days.

Subsequently, director Park Chan-wook, whose film "I Can't Help It" won the Best Film award, said, "Looking at the results, I am convinced that a fair judging process took place. Hye-ran might not agree. Shin Se-kyung also did well." Hye-ran also made efforts to ease the atmosphere by saying, "This is Hye-ran, just announced," among other things.

In the case of the Academy Awards, the representative awards ceremony of Hollywood's Los Angeles, many winners and presenters, starting with the host, make jokes. Sometimes they use satire or make humorous jokes. If Leonardo DiCaprio attends the ceremony, his history of dating young blonde women (in his 20s) always becomes a subject of jokes. At this year's ceremony, Timothée Chalamet's behavior, which disregarded ballet and opera, was also mocked. Along with congratulations to the winners, teasing of those who did not win also passes off cheerfully. How far does the line of cheerful jokes at award ceremonies go? That line differs by country, culture, and person.

While Lee Sung-min's remarks were indeed a joke lacking in wit, were they really so rude as to become a controversy for several days? Lee Sung-min's honest and human-like appearance was well-received as likable on variety programs, but it seems to be perceived differently in reality. One might wonder if, in future award ceremonies, we should not be forced to give only robot-like, pre-set answers for even a single sentence of acceptance speech, rather than expressing emotions honestly.

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*This content was translated by AI.