SBS Friday-Saturday drama 'Would You Merry Me' faced backlash from viewers over a scene that involved illegal filming and the way a female character was portrayed.
In episode 6 of Would You Merry Me, which aired on the 25th, family medicine specialist Yoon Jin-kyung (played by Shin Seul-gi) is shown performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation to save a patient who suffered cardiac arrest while running in a park.
During this sequence, a person appears secretly filming Yoon Jin-kyung, and Baek Sang-hyun (played by Bae Nara), who notices it, covers Yoon Jin-kyung with a coat and says, "Cover up a bit," then continues the CPR himself.
Afterward, Baek Sang-hyun catches the hidden camera perpetrator, takes away the phone, and said, "Illegal covert filming is punishable by up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won. Repeat offenders will not be treated leniently," and "It seems like this is the first time, so I'm letting it pass, but next time there will be no mercy," then deleted the footage.
Immediately after the broadcast, that scene quickly spread across online communities. In particular, criticism poured in not only for broadcasting an excessively explicit illegal filming angle but also for the line "we'll let this pass" without handing the criminal over directly to the police.
Netizens reacted negatively, saying things like "I don't know what sensibility this was written with," "They shouldn't have just taken the criminal's phone and left it at that; they should have reported it," and "It's unpleasant that the woman suffered harm but the male character makes the decision for her."
Meanwhile, Would You Merry Me continues its popularity as the No. 1 Saturday miniseries with the romance between Kim Woo-joo (Choi Woo-shik) and Yu Meri (Jung So-min) at its center. However, criticism over the illegal filming scene in the Shin Seul-gi and Bae Nara subplot has intensified, drawing attention to whether the production team will offer an explanation.
[Photo] Broadcast capture
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