Super Junior Kim Hee-cheul apologized for his reckless conduct.
On the 10th Kim Hee-cheul on his social media wrote "Haru, you must be bewildered to see an apology a day later, but this is my fault" and apologized for the "upside-down taegeuk" controversy that he had earlier criticized.
Earlier Kim Hee-cheul had taken a jab saying "That's insane" after criticism arose that the taegeuk pattern on a banner a local government put up to commemorate the 81st anniversary of Liberation Day showed "blue on top, red on the bottom" when the independence activist on the banner was depicted holding and waving the flag with both hands.
According to the local government the taegeuk was not drawn incorrectly but was depicted from a low viewpoint looking up at an independence activist waving the taegeuk, but officials judged that when seen flat it could cause misunderstanding among citizens and removed the banner on the 8th, two days after it was installed.
Recognizing the misunderstanding caused by the perspective Kim Hee-cheul said "I did not properly recognize the way the person was holding it and in the moment I looked only at the taegeuk drawing and became angry. This was clearly my fault brought on by a lack of spatial awareness and haste. I am sorry" and added "A startled heart is frightened by a pot lid, as the proverb goes. Lately I have often seen people, videos and photos hanging or drawing the taegeuk upside down, so perhaps a lot of anger had built up inside me. But it was my fault for not looking at the picture closely and when one is wrong it is only natural to apologize, so please rebuke me for not being more careful."
He added "I hope that from now on the taegeuk will not be distorted into other meanings or misunderstandings" and corrected unnecessary misconceptions by saying "And yes I am Korean. I was born in Hoengseong, Gangwon."
[OSEN]