"JTBC Air Conditioner Is Cold?" Backlash... Lee Na-yeon Ultimately Does Not Apologize, 'Deleted Ending' [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Na-yeon, a sports announcer, mentioned JTBC's financial difficulties by saying, "The air conditioner isn't working." After backlash ensued, she ultimately deleted the video.

Recently, Lee Na-yeon posted a video titled "I'm Still Not Unemployed Yet: A Day in the Life of a 30-Something Office Worker with JTBC Commute Vlog, Jennie's Favorite Restaurant, and Daily Routine" on her YouTube channel "First, Lee Na-yeon."

The video showed Lee preparing for broadcasts as a sports announcer and even revealed an online Chinese language class at the JTBC building. During this, she said, "Should I really say this? Is it because the company is struggling that the air conditioner isn't working? It's so hot." She added, "I won't get fired just for saying this, right?" drawing attention.

Lee further stated, "Honestly, I'm not sure how long I can keep showing this. This place is like my emotional home. Although nothing has been officially decided yet, if anything becomes clear, I'll let you know first. Until then, I'll do my best in my assigned role and take full responsibility to continue the program well until the end."

Subsequently, on the 23rd, StarNews confirmed that according to multiple sources in the broadcasting industry, rumors claiming the air conditioner was not operating at the JTBC building were false. Regardless of the broadcaster's financial difficulties, there have been no significant disruptions to employee working conditions such as air conditioning operation within the JTBC building.

Among the comments on the YouTube channel "First, Lee Na-yeon," a netizen believed to be a JTBC employee posted content correcting the misunderstanding. The netizen wrote, "It's true that the company is struggling, but employees are each enduring hardships at their own posts. Because of this person's remarks, mocking articles even appeared, which made me watch the video. Publicly saying things like 'The company is so broke they can't even turn on the air conditioner' seems too reckless."

They also added, "For your reference, the air conditioner is working well and it's actually too cold. Almost no one connects feeling hot elsewhere to whether the company is struggling."

Ultimately, after the controversy arose, Lee Na-yeon left only a single scene from the video where she said, "I was completely stunned. It was so hot," and deleted all parts mentioning JTBC. However, she did not remove the subtitles displayed during the golf broadcast rehearsal or the personal reflections written in the video description.

Meanwhile, on the 12th of last month, JTBC failed to repay a liquidity loan worth 206 billion won upon maturity, falling into default status. Subsidiaries including Joongang Holdings, Contentri Joongang, Joongang P&I, and Megabox Joongang have sequentially filed for reorganization proceedings.

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*This content was translated by AI.