Lee Su-ji's production team apologizes for political controversy

Following controversy over alleged political undertones in YouTube content featuring comedian Lee Su-ji, the production team has issued an official apology, clarifying that the matter is entirely unrelated to the performer.

On the 15th, the production team of Lee Su-ji's YouTube channel 'Hot Issue Ji' stated via the video's comment section, "We sincerely apologize to everyone who felt discomfort or disappointment due to the video."

The team admitted, "The scene in question was not used with the intention of conveying a specific issue or political stance," adding, "It was entirely a lack of judgment on the part of the production team to use the scene without sufficiently considering socially sensitive matters."

They further explained, "This incident has absolutely no connection to the political inclinations or intentions of the individual cast member," noting that the issue arose because they "failed to review it meticulously during the production process."

"We are also deeply sorry for causing unnecessary misunderstanding and burden to the cast member," the team added. "Moving forward, we will produce content with a more responsible attitude."

The controversy stemmed from the video 'Civil Servant Kim Ji-young's Fight to Protect Her Iron Rice Bowl,' which was released on the 14th.

In the video, Lee portrayed a fictional new civil servant, 'Kim Ji-young,' comically depicting the grievances civil servants face in the field. The satire included complainants demanding documents before work begins, making requests unrelated to assigned duties, or filing complaints simply because a worker was drinking takeout coffee.

The video also featured a scene where a team leader mentions the famous civil servant YouTuber Kim Seon-tae (Chungju-man) while assigning YouTube management duties.

The problematic segment involved background audio of protesters shouting for "re-elections." Some viewers suspected the audio was intended to link actual re-election protests to the malicious complaints faced by civil servants.

As the controversy spread, the production team moved to contain the situation by deleting the problematic scene and posting an official apology.

The team repeatedly emphasized that the scene was not intended to carry a specific political message and that all responsibility lies with the production crew.

Since her debut as an SBS comedian in 2008, Lee has earned widespread acclaim for her versatile character acting in works such as Coupang Play's 'SNL Korea' and 'Office Workers.' She has recently been active through her YouTube channel 'Hot Issue Ji,' parodying social phenomena, and is preparing for the release of the new ENA drama 'New Recruit 4: Sabotage.'