PYEONGCHANG -- South Korean celebrity Kim Mi-hwa came under fire Sunday for having made seemingly uninformed and highly-opinionated comments during MBC TV's broadcast of the PyeongChang Winter Games' opening ceremony.
The veteran comedian-turned-radio host appeared as a guest commentator on MBC TV's broadcast of the PyeongChang Olympics'on Friday, along with the station's sportscaster Park Kyung-chu and commentator Hur Seung-wook.
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Kim Mi-hwa (right, Yonhap) |
Many viewers have expressed discomfort regarding Kim's remarks during the broadcast, with some accusing the host of sounding ignorant, to being outright biased. On air, Kim reportedly said, "African athletes probably have never seen snow," to which Hur mentioned there being a number of ski resorts in South Africa.
The openly-liberal celebrity also appeared to have made political statements on air.
"There are probably those who had hoped for the Olympics to not succeed. They should go raise their arms until (all the snow in) PyeongChang melts," apparently throwing a jab at those with negative sentiments towards the current liberal administration. Kim endorsed Moon Jae-in when he ran in last year's presidential election.
Kim also expressed her displeasure towards the International Olympic Committee's recommendation to exclude the image of Dokdo, the country's eastern islets, from the Korea Unification Flag.
Dokdo has long been a recurring source of tension between South Korea and Japan.
On Sunday, Kim posted an apology on Twitter for her "lack of sensitivity" during the broadcast but also suggested that the backlash was caused by members of the conservative extremist online community, Ilbe. Her comments spawned another wave of negative reaction, with many criticizing her for being insincere in her apology.
Kim posted a follow-up tweet, saying that she was "deeply sorry" over her "inappropriate apology." (Yonhap)
