Geoje steps in to end 'museopno' debate that drew PD criticism and political spat

The city of Geoje in South Gyeongsang Province has issued an official statement on the controversy surrounding Lisn member Woni's use of the word "museopno," five days after a television producer's public criticism set off a political dispute.

Geoje Mayor Byeon Gwang-yong said Friday that "the expression is a dialect and colloquial form in everyday use across the South Gyeongsang region, and it is Geoje city's position that interpreting it as carrying a specific political intent is not appropriate."

Byeon added that "healthy criticism and diverse opinions deserve respect, but the indiscriminate spread of unverified claims and excessive condemnation can cause unnecessary harm to the individuals involved," and called on the public to foster "a mature culture of communication built on mutual consideration."

The statement came after a complaint was submitted through the National Sinmungo government portal demanding an official position from Geoje city on Woni's use of "museopno." The city had previously said it was "comprehensively reviewing the situation" after receiving the complaint.

The controversy began when a producer at a South Gyeongsang broadcaster alleged that "museopno," used by Woni in a video posted to her YouTube channel on Sunday, was an expression associated with the far-right online community Ilbe. The claim prompted a heated online debate, with some supporting the Ilbe-expression theory and others arguing the word is a long-standing dialect of the Gyeongsang region.

The dispute spilled into politics. Cho Kuk, former leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, posted that the particle "-no" is used only in interrogative sentences requiring a specific explanation, and that mechanically attaching "-no" to a standard Korean sentence could be seen as an Ilbe-style expression. Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, rebuffed that characterization, calling it ideological witch-hunting to brand an idol from Geoje with an Ilbe label simply for using her hometown dialect.

Academic and survey data appear to support the dialect argument. Research by the National Institute of Korean Language found cases of "-no" used in sentences without interrogative words, suggesting the suffix's use as an exclamatory or emotive ending cannot be attributed to Ilbe.

However, the producer who first raised the issue posted again on social media, maintaining the original position and asking whether, "rather than distinguishing which '-no' is being used, if someone is hurt by the word, couldn't one pause even briefly before using it." Since Sunday, the broadcaster's viewer message board has received roughly 200 protest posts a day demanding an apology from the producer and an official response from the company, but neither the producer nor the broadcaster has issued a statement.

Woni is from Geoje and has used her YouTube channel to introduce the city's dialect and local scenery. After her Japanese teammate Minami's exclamation "Geoje, yahoo!" went viral online and boosted the city's profile, Geoje appointed Lisn as its digital content promotional ambassadors in May.

Mayor Byeon said the city "will do its utmost to enhance the Geoje brand value and city image together with the ambassadors who represent the region."