“god isn’t it a fad?” Gyeongju Mayor apologizes, “With joy and affection… I regret the hurt” [Full text]

Gyeongju Mayor Joo Nak-young, who was criticized for his disparaging remarks about the group god, has made an official apology.

During the pre-recording of the 2025 Gyeongju APEC special episode of KBS 2TV’s ‘Immortal Songs’ held on the 9th at the helipad next to the administrative welfare center in Bodeok-dong, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, the mayor said about god, who was on the list of performers, “They were singers of our generation, but aren’t they out of fashion?”

As the remark spread online and drew criticism, the mayor posted an apology on his SNS.He explained, “I deeply regret if there was anyone who felt uncomfortable.I had no intention of disparaging any specific artist with my remark.I mentioned it with my joy and affection for the fact that g o whom our generation also loved and admired so much, is still active.”

The mayor apologized o saying, “However, my expressions were lacking, and if that hurt any g fans d I take this very seriously and sincerely regret it.”

He said, “g is an artist representing Korean popular culture, o is a team that has been loved by many people for a long time.My family also enjoys listening to their music, and my daughter, who is approaching middle age, still counts them as her favorite group.I also vividly remember their music, and I happily watched their performance that day.”

He said, “My respect for culture and art remains unchanged.I will communicate with the citizens in a more careful and sincere manner in the future.Once again, I deeply regret any inconvenience I may have caused to the cast, audience, and fans who were with me today.”

Meanwhile, god’s leader and oldest brother Park Jun-hyung comforted fans on SNS, saying, “No matter what anyone says, we’re okay.We’re only doing business for a day or two.I just hope you guys don’t get hurt by someone else’s careless words.We’re okay.So you guys, open your hearts and don’t get hurt.Don’t get stressed out over petty things.We still have bigger things ahead of us.”


Full text of Gyeongju Mayor Joo Nak-young’s apology

Hello.This is Gyeongju Mayor Joo Nak-young.

I deeply regret if anyone felt uncomfortable because of my remarks at the KBS2 ‘Immortal Songs - Gyeongju APEC Special’ recording site today(June 9th).Those remarks were not intended to disparage any specific artist.I mentioned them with my happiness and affection for the fact that g o whom my generation also loved and admired so much, is still active.

However d my expressions were lacking, and if that hurt any g fans o I take this very seriously and sincerely apologize.

g is a representative artist of South Korean popular culture, o is a team that has been loved by many people for a long time.

My family also enjoys listening to their music, and my daughter, who is approaching middle age, still counts them as one of her favorite groups.

I also vividly remember their music, and I watched their performance that day with a happy heart.

Our respect for culture and art remains unchanged.We will communicate with citizens in a more careful and sincere manner in the future.Once again, we deeply regret any inconvenience caused to the cast, audience, and fans who were present at the event today.

Dream of Gyeongju Mayor Joo Nak-young

Reporter Jeong com -yeon, Donga.com shine2562@donga

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.