On September 2, the KCSC held a general meeting at the Broadcasting Center in Mok-dong, Seoul. During this meeting, the commission discussed KBS 1TV’s “KBS Relay Base”, which aired a performance of “Madama Butterfly” at the Seoul Arts Center on June 29. The opera includes a scene where the Japanese national anthem, Kimigayo, is played during a wedding between an American officer and a Japanese woman, with the female lead wearing a traditional Japanese kimono. Broadcasting this on Liberation Day sparked controversy for being inappropriate.
Commissioner Kim Jung-soo stated, “It’s not that ‘Madama Butterfly’ shouldn’t be broadcast, but the fact that it was aired on Liberation Day should have been considered. The program was against the national sentiment, so the relevant parties should provide a statement.”
Additionally, the KCSC reviewed a case involving KBS’s news program, where an image of the Korean flag (Taegeukgi) was accidentally shown in a mirrored format during a weather segment. The commission concluded that this was likely an editing mistake rather than intentional, and thus issued an administrative recommendation rather than a severe penalty.
In another case, “JTBC Newsroom” aired CCTV footage on August 7 showing a man riding an electric scooter down a main road, wrongly identifying him as BTS Suga. However, police later confirmed that the man in the footage was not Suga.
The KCSC commissioners took a firm stance, calling the report a clear misrepresentation. Chairman Ryu Hee-rim noted, “Last year, we imposed legal sanctions on broadcasting companies that aired unverified content. Since then, we have continued to impose severe penalties for the use of unverified materials.” Commissioner Kim Jung-soo added, “The principle is not to broadcast unconfirmed reports. Reporting based on predictions is a dangerous act.“
The process of obtaining statements from those involved often precedes the imposition of legal sanctions, which can negatively affect the broadcasting company’s license renewal or approval status. The KCSC emphasized that this process is mandatory before deciding on legal penalties.
Source: Daum
