Comedian Kim Young Chul is facing backlash for making an inappropriate gesture toward broadcaster Jang Young Ran in a YouTube video.
Adding to the controversy, instead of apologizing to Jang Young Ran directly, he apologized to her husband, sparking even more criticism.
On February 26, a video was uploaded on the YouTube channel A-Class Jang Young Ran, where Jang Young Ran visited Kim Young Chul’s home.
In the video, Jang Young Ran was looking through Kim Young Chul’s closet and asked, “What’s your most cherished and expensive piece of clothing?”
Kim Young Chul responded, “It cost 4.3 million won”, and showed a luxury jacket. Jang Young Ran then tried on the jacket, saying, “It looks good on women too.”
At that moment, Kim Young Chul commented, “The problem is that it’s a bit trendy. Can this part be scraped off?” and used his finger to touch the logo on Jang Young Ran’s upper body.
Startled, Jang Young Ran immediately reacted, saying, “Where are you touching? Why are you doing that? My husband is watching.” Even the video’s PD (producer-director) called him out, saying, “Where are you touching?”
Kim Young Chul, flustered, pointed to the logo on his own jacket and said, “Try it yourself. See if it can be scraped off”.
Jang Young Ran, visibly uncomfortable, pointed to Kim Young Chul’s private area and said, “If this were here, how would you feel if I touched it?” making her displeasure clear.
However, Kim Young Chul defended himself, saying, “I was just trying to see if it could be scraped off… You’re overreacting”, shifting the blame onto Jang Young Ran instead. She immediately corrected him, saying, “I’m not overreacting”.
Despite this, Kim Young Chul later apologized—not to Jang Young Ran but to her husband, Han Chang. Instead of addressing Jang Young Ran, he looked at the camera and said, “Han Chang, I’m sorry”.
This reaction fueled further criticism as netizens pointed out that the apology should have been directed at Jang Young Ran, not her husband. The PD of the video also faced backlash for not editing out the scene and treating it as a joke.
Netizens expressed their anger, saying:
- “So, once a woman is married, does her body and dignity belong to her husband? Why did he say ‘You’re overreacting’ to Jang Young Ran but then apologize to her husband when he realized her husband was watching?”
- “He crossed the line.”
- “He should apologize to the person he actually touched.”
- “What is the PD even doing, laughing at this?”
- “It was clearly inappropriate, and yet he only said sorry to her husband. That’s just wrong.”
- “If someone points out your mistake, just apologize immediately instead of making excuses.”
- “Where exactly is the funny part here? This was basically sexual harassment, and when Jang Young Ran got upset, he acted confused and apologized to the wrong person.”
The controversy continues to grow as more people criticize both Kim Young Chul’s behavior and the production team’s decision to air the moment unedited.
Source: [1]
