Animation outsourced to KBS N at center of controversy

NEC says it assumed KBS-made content would be problem-free

KBS vows thorough probe, strict action against those responsible

Skate ray images float out of male characters' mouths as they sigh. The clip is a promotional video the National Election Commission commissioned from KBS N. [Screen capture from KBS election night broadcast]
Skate ray images float out of male characters' mouths as they sigh. The clip is a promotional video the National Election Commission commissioned from KBS N. [Screen capture from KBS election night broadcast]

An official promotional video produced for the National Election Commission has drawn sharp criticism after it featured imagery widely associated with a derogatory term targeting the Honam region.

The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported Thursday that a graphic resembling a skate ray appeared in a ballot-counting observer guide video the NEC posted to its official YouTube channel on May 28.

In the animated clip, male characters sigh while observing a vote count, and as they do, an image resembling a skate ray drifts out of their noses and mouths.

The skate ray, known in Korean as "hongeo," is used as a slur against people from the Honam region — which encompasses South and North Jeolla provinces — in some far-right online communities.

The NEC had outsourced the video to KBS N, a subsidiary of public broadcaster KBS. KBS also aired the clip during its local elections results broadcast.

The production team said the video was generated using AI and that the prompt used at the time described "a semi-transparent stingray-shaped soul escaping through the mouth," adding there was no intent to demean any region.

The NEC said the inclusion was not deliberate but acknowledged shortcomings in its review process.

"There was absolutely no intention to insert that image for any specific purpose," an NEC official said. "During the review, we thought it was simply a speech-bubble-style image commonly used in animation and moved on. We also assumed that because KBS made it, there would not be a major problem."

KBS apologized Thursday through an anchor statement on its "News 9" program. "We sincerely apologize for broadcasting a video graphic during the election results coverage that could be seen as denigrating a specific region," the broadcaster said. "We will conduct a thorough investigation and take strict action against those involved in the production."

The video has since been set to private.

The controversy continues to spread, however, as the footage circulates across online communities.


jshan@heraldcorp.com