Comedian Kim Su-young has been drawn into controversy after viewers who asked about the origin of ingredients during a marinated crab livestream said their chat messages were blocked. Kim's side said the chat was moderated only because questions about whether the product was from China had flooded the stream to the point of disruption, and that there was no intent to conceal the origin.
Some viewers who watched Kim's marinated crab livestream claimed online that their chat messages were blocked after they asked about the origin of the ingredients.
One viewer posted a complaint on the product's inquiry board, writing: "I was watching the YouTube livestream and wanted to order because it looked delicious, so I asked whether the origin was domestic or Chinese — why was my chat blocked? Is asking a question itself considered a malicious comment?" Other viewers posted similar complaints in quick succession.
According to the product's detailed information page, the blue crabs sold by Kim were listed as domestic, while the sauces were of foreign origin; the amino acid liquid used in the sauce was listed as originating from India, the United States and China. The spicy marinated crab was listed as 50 percent crab and 50 percent sauce, with the chili peppers used in the seasoning noted as being from China.
Kim's side, however, said the chat had been moderated because inquiries on the subject were so numerous they made it difficult to continue the broadcast.
Kim's wife told Asia Today that the person managing the chat "may have overreacted," but added that comments questioning whether the product was Chinese had been coming in for some time. "If viewers flood the stream with that kind of messaging, the broadcast itself cannot go on," she said.
Kim also told XSports News that he had disclosed the origins openly during the broadcast. "When viewers asked about the origin of the crabs being sold, I told them they were domestic, and when asked about the chili powder, I honestly said it was from China. We had no intention of hiding or misrepresenting the origin, so we communicated everything as it was," he said. He added, however, that even after the origins were disclosed, comments insisting that anything from China should automatically be distrusted and filtered out kept coming, and as more remarks piled on and the situation worsened, moderation became unavoidable.
paq@heraldcorp.com
