YouTuber Kim Sun-tae, who quit show over RESCENE controversy, shares first update from cluttered room

YouTuber Kim Sun-tae, who voluntarily stepped down from a program amid criticism that he had inflicted secondary harm on a member of girl group RESCENE, has shared his first public update.

A short video titled "Kim Sun-tae's current status" was posted Friday to his YouTube channel.

The roughly eight-second clip shows Kim in a disheveled room strewn with trash and empty liquor bottles, his face covered in an unkempt beard.

In the video, Kim stares blankly into the distance for a moment before muttering in a bitter tone, "How lonely," as the clip ends.

Kim drew criticism for secondary harm after directly referencing RESCENE member Woni's past dialect controversy — in which she used the expression "museopno" — on the KBS YouTube web variety show "Donsuntae: Era of Success," released July 29.

The controversy deepened when the video's thumbnail featured the phrase "What's so scary?" alongside the names of individuals with no direct connection to the episode's content.

As criticism spread, the video was set to private and Kim issued a public apology before withdrawing from the program. "Donsuntae," which had drawn attention as his first terrestrial web variety show and solo MC venture, was ultimately pulled from the schedule before its premiere episode aired, in effect bringing the project to a close.

Fans who watched the clip left words of encouragement in the comments. Reactions included "breaking through with talent," "get back up," "in the end he took all the blame alone" and "he really is a YouTube genius."