Home&Shopping host draws regulator rebuke for sexual remarks during underwear segment

A Home&Shopping host who repeatedly made sexual remarks while selling men's underwear has received an administrative guidance recommendation from the Korea Communications Standards Commission.

The commission's advertising review subcommittee on Monday reviewed a Home&Shopping broadcast from May 1 featuring a Calvin Klein Underwear Package sales segment and voted to issue a recommendation to four members and a statement of opinion to one.

During the broadcast, the host compared male and female anatomy, saying, "Women have two volumes up here. Men have two volumes right here," and "Men have two things stuck together here. They're pressed down."

The host also pointed to his own body while saying, "This part is important. Volume. Men's volume is right here," and "Men have two balls and one stick. Three things are all pressed together."

While explaining the underwear's fit, the host added, "It seems like this thing knows the size here. How does it fit this part?" and "It must have measured me while I was sleeping. It fits this part perfectly."

The commission determined that the host's repeated words and gestures emphasizing male anatomy throughout the broadcast could offend viewers' ethical sensibilities. The applicable provision is Article 10, Paragraph 9 of the regulations governing the review of product introduction and sales broadcasts.

During the review, committee members repeatedly said the manner of expression was excessive even if some explanation of the product's fit and functionality was necessary.

Committee member Choi Seon-yeong said the comparison of male and female anatomy itself was unnecessary, not just the hand gestures. "I found the suggestiveness of these remarks to be extremely serious," she said. "Even in a short clip, I couldn't believe how the host managed to string all of that together." However, she said a recommendation calling for more careful language going forward was more appropriate than a formal legal sanction.