A civic group filed a police complaint against Choi Uk, host of the YouTube channel "Maebul Show," and adjunct professor Chung Jun-hee of Hanyang University ERICA's Department of Information Society and Media. The group took issue with Choi's remark on the program targeting users of the Daily Best Archive (Ilbe) that they "should be run over by a tank."
The People's Livelihood Countermeasures Committee (Seominwi) said on the 9th that it reported Choi and Chung to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on charges including intimidation, insult, defamation, and violation of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.
Seominwi cited remarks made on the YouTube channel "Choi Uk's Maebul Show" on the 5th as the basis for the complaint. At the time, Choi mentioned Ilbe and said, "Ilbe on the internet must definitely be criminalized," adding, "What these guys greatly admire is Chun Doo-hwan." He went on to say, "In that way, they should be run over by a tank online."
Seominwi also took issue with remarks by Chung on the same program. Referring to some people in their 20s and 30s, Chung said, "It is absolutely necessary to take up clubs in a legal way." Chung also said, "We should subdue them with power rather than persuading them rationally."
Seominwi argues that the two people's remarks amount to threatening and insulting expressions toward a specific group. Comparing the controversy over Starbucks' marketing phrase "Tank Day," Seominwi explained that the complaint is based on the view that Choi's "tank" remark and Chung's "club" expression were inappropriate.
Choi's remarks spread through social media (SNS) and online communities after the broadcast, sparking controversy. Some in politics also criticized the remarks, linking them to the controversy over the "tank" expression surrounding the May 18 Gwangju pro-democracy movement.
As the controversy grew, Choi apologized on the "Maebul Show" on the 8th. While apologizing to those who felt uncomfortable with the remarks, Choi said it was not an apology to far-right forces that praise the methods of Chun Doo-hwan. Choi also said it is not true to disguise the far right as representing all men in their 20s.