Singer Shim Su-bong faces health concerns after unsteady stage appearance, days after public jab at Kim Da-hyun

Singer Shim Su-bong, 71, has drawn fresh attention over her health after publicly criticizing junior singer Kim Da-hyun and later apologizing for the remarks. She is reported to suffer from misophonia.

On Monday, the YouTube channel "Rock Music" posted full footage of Shim's performance at the 10th Jinan Highland Trot Music Festival, held Sunday in Jinan-gun, North Jeolla Province.

In the video, Shim was helped onto the stage by a staff member and showed an unsteady gait while descending the stairs. At several points during the performance, she was seen touching her neck and bending forward as if in discomfort.

Viewers also noted that her pitch and timing wavered at times and that she did not display her trademark vocal power.

Online commenters expressed concern, writing that she "can't even walk out on her own — she needs to take care of her health first" and that she "doesn't look well."

Shim is reported to have been living with misophonia, a condition in which a person experiences intense negative reactions — including disgust, anger and anxiety — to specific sounds or frequencies, regardless of volume. Beyond simple sensitivity, the condition often leads sufferers to avoid situations that might trigger those sounds altogether.

In a broadcast earlier this June, Shim opened up about the condition, saying, "If there's a sharp or loud sound, I collapse," and that she "always carries earplugs just in case."

The controversy began when Shim took the stage after Kim Da-hyun's performance and said: "The woman who just sang — she made my head spin. A young girl who doesn't know what singing is, what life is. Please don't put that performer in front of me. You don't just do music carelessly like that. Music that comforts the people who've come here after living through hardship and struggle — it's not something that easy." The remarks drew widespread criticism, with many calling her behavior unbecoming of a senior artist.

As the backlash grew, Shim apologized to Kim and her family, saying she "didn't know exactly who the singer performing before me was" and that the words "were absolutely not meant to humiliate any specific person." She added that "it was clearly wrong of me, as an elder, to say words that would hurt a junior singer's feelings." The apology did little to quiet the controversy.

Explaining the context behind her remarks, Shim said she had "long harbored worries and concerns about Korean popular music" and that "on the day of the event, the noise at the venue caused me great stress." She bowed her head, saying, "The fact that such words came out of my mouth at an inappropriate moment, in a way that defied common sense — I have no excuse, even if I had ten mouths."

Kim said Monday she had accepted the apology. "I spoke directly with Shim Su-bong on the phone, and she personally apologized and offered warm words of encouragement and comfort," she said. "Fans, I know you were upset and worried by this. I will pull myself together, so please don't worry — let's meet again with bright smiles. Thank you."

Meanwhile, Shim was present at the Oct. 26, 1979, dinner at a private residence in Gunjeong-dong when President Park Chung-hee was shot and killed by Kim Jae-gyu, witnessing the assassination firsthand while performing beside the president.