Political issue? Mocking citizens' fundamental right to vote, controversy spreads.. Lee Su-ji apologizes for comments on 'Hot Issue Ji', backlash intensifies [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

The controversy over comedian Lee Su-ji (41) mocking a re-election has continued for two days.

Earlier, in a video titled "Civil Servant Kim Ji-young (a sub-character) Defends Her Iron Rice Bowl," posted on the YouTube channel 'Hot Issue Ji' on the 14th, Lee Su-ji drew criticism by portraying citizens urging a re-election as "malicious complainants." The sketch depicted a civil servant being harassed by malicious complainants, but suddenly included protesters repeatedly shouting "Re-election!" This led to accusations of "caricaturing" and "mocking" the issue.

The video's view count surpassed 1.04 million views in just two days, heating up the online space. Eventually, the 'Hot Issue Ji' production team deleted the controversial scene and posted an apology comment. They stated, "We sincerely apologize to everyone who felt discomfort or disappointment due to this video. The scenes pointed out by many were not intended to convey any specific issue or political stance. However, using these scenes without sufficiently considering sensitive social matters was a lapse in judgment by our production team."

They further added, "This incident has nothing to do with the personal political preferences or intentions of the cast members. It arose because the production team failed to carefully review the content during the video creation process. We deeply regret that this has caused unnecessary misunderstanding and burden for the cast members," thereby shielding Lee Su-ji.

However, netizens are fiercely criticizing Lee Su-ji for failing to recognize the issue. Comments on the apology included: "How can a matter of voting rights be called a political issue? How is a fundamental right a political issue?", "So you're treating the 're-election' issue itself as lightly as a game of chance or someone else's problem," "The fact that you didn't even consider it could be problematic shows that there's already a problem. It's shocking," "Is re-election not your concern? Don't hide, come out and apologize," "Why is this an issue of political preference? Voting rights are not about left-right political colors. It's about national sovereignty. Look at the essence of the problem correctly," "Are voting rights really just a matter of political preference?", "You inserted 're-election' repeatedly even though there was no political intent? Who do you think we are, fools?", "The apology makes me angrier," "This seems like an issue where the video should be taken down and a proper apology made," "At times like this, Lee Su-ji disappears while only the production team apologizes? They're all the same," "Everyone from the production team to Lee Su-ji needs to be educated on what citizens' fundamental rights are," and "What does this have to do with politics? Citizens' fundamental right to vote has been undermined, yet it's being treated as a joke."

As of the 16th, the number of comments has surpassed 13,800. The apology has only fueled further backlash, keeping the controversy surrounding Lee Su-ji and the 'Hot Issue Ji' production team intensely heated without any sign of cooling down.

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*This content was translated by AI.