![Producer Na Young-seok. [Newsis]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/05/news-p.v1.20260605.b4bccf36643a4f009371278d25b5c142_P1.jpg)
The YouTube channel "Channel Fifteen Night," led by producer Na Young-seok, has issued a formal apology over a controversy surrounding how Taiwan was labeled in subtitles — but some Taiwanese fans remain unsatisfied.
The production team posted an apology on its official social media account on June 3, saying: "We sincerely apologize to viewers who felt discomfort and hurt due to the Taiwan-related labeling in the subtitle translation process."
The controversy began after a video titled "Business Trip Communication God: SEVENTEEN Team Workshop," released May 29, showed Na mentioning "news that appeared in Taiwan." In the Chinese-language subtitles, however, the reference was translated as "overseas news" rather than "Taiwan news." Some Taiwanese viewers reacted with frustration, saying "Taiwan is Taiwan" and "it feels like our existence was erased."
In response, the production team said it corrected the subtitles as soon as it became aware that "Taiwan" had been rendered as "overseas" in the Chinese subtitles, and conducted a broader review to check whether similar problems existed in other languages and to determine how the error had occurred.
The team went on to say that while the issue was a mistake made during the translation process, "the responsibility for failing to catch and correct it at the final review stage lies entirely with us," adding that it was taking the matter seriously and carefully reviewing the feedback it had received.
The team also said: "We sincerely apologize for the disappointment caused by insufficient review, when we should have been more attentive to our viewers."
Despite the apology, the reaction from some Taiwanese fans has remained cool. Two factors have fueled the lingering discontent: the statement came roughly a week after the controversy first erupted, and it was posted only on Threads rather than on the YouTube channel where the video appeared.
Some users responded: "Why wasn't this posted on the YouTube channel where the problem occurred?" "Why can the apology only be seen on Threads?" and "If they truly meant to apologize, they should have announced it on the official channel as well."
choigo@heraldcorp.com
