Singer/actress Han Sunhwa is receiving harsh criticism for her latest YouTube video featuring guest Lee Jun Seok (39), a member of the National Assembly of South Korea as well as the conservative People Power Party.
On September 11, a new video on Han Sunhwa's YouTube channel showed the actress dining with Lee Jun Seok. Here, Han Sunhwa asked Lee Jun Seok, "Even though you're in the National Assembly, our age difference is only 5 years. Can I just call you oppa? Please just call me Sunhwa."
When Lee Jun Seok addressed her by her name, Sunhwa responded, "That pulled my heartstrings."
The two continued chatting casually, as Sunhwa mentioned that the most-viewed video on her channel currently has around 220,000 views. Hearing this, Lee Jun Seok remarked, "Do you want my help getting to 300,000? First, go and fetch some alcohol, and change the name of this channel to 'Hot Sunhwa'."
At the end of the video, Sunhwa mentioned, "It felt a little weird to keep using 'oppa', so I went back and forth between 'oppa' and 'assemblyman'. But Jun Seok oppa, thank you for coming today," and shook hands with Lee Jun Seok.
Soon after the video was posted, many Korean netizens attacked the video with harsh criticism. Some questioned the appropriateness of a celebrity and a politician filming "flirtatious" content for entertainment, while others altogether disagreed with the idea of politicians appearing on entertainment content to gain popularity. Some also claimed that regardless of its intentions, the video seemed to reveal Han Sunhwa's political party preference.
Netizens further criticized Han Sunhwa and the producers of the YouTube channel for inviting Lee Jun Seok, who most recently faced controversy for his remarks about the ongoing deepfake sexual crimes issue in South Korea. According to Lee Jun Seok, "There is some exaggeration over the seriousness of this issue right now," such as the number of potential assailants involved in the crimes.
When the criticism escalated, Han Sunhwa's channel eventually took down the recent video from YouTube.
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