Old photo of S. Korea ex-leader's gift misleadingly shared as 'reason' TV show host was fired
- Published on March 8, 2024 at 10:06
- Updated on March 12, 2024 at 02:11
- 4 min read
- By SHIM Kyu-Seok, AFP South Korea
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The photo, showing a watch with Moon's signature on its face, was shared alongside the claim here on Facebook on March 5, 2024.
Korean-language text under the image reads: "Kim Shin-young, host of 'National Singing Contest,' was informed of her dismissal from the show the day after she showed off her Moon Jae-in watch on social media."
The claim surfaced a day after KBS abruptly removed comedian Kim Shin-young as the host of the TV show, which has been part of the public broadcaster's programming since 1980 (archived links here and here).
Her sudden ouster less than two years after her appointment in September 2022 led to speculation among local media and social media users about an underlying political motive (archived links here, here and here).
The current chief for KBS -- appointed by incumbent President Yoon Suk Yeol in November -- had been accused of suppressing voices critical of the ruling party after he dismissed multiple anchors and journalists he claimed were responsible for "unfair and biased reporting", from their programmes (archived link).
Since succeeding Moon as president in 2022, Yoon had frequently lobbed attacks at his predecessor, once even using the phrase "anti-state forces" to characterise Moon's government and party (archived link).
Identical posts making the same misleading claim were shared repeatedly on Facebook here, here, here and here.
The photo in the posts was shared on Kim's Instagram in May 2018 -- years before she was appointed to host "National Singing Contest".
Misleading context
Nearly all of Kim's older posts on Instagram, including those showing the watch, have been taken down (archived link).
But separate keyword searches on Google found multiple reports from May 2018, including here, here and here, which published screenshots of her Instagram post about receiving the watch from Moon (archived links here, here and here).
South Korean presidents commonly hand out watches engraved with their autographs to important visitors and supporters, a tradition that goes back decades (archived link).
When Moon entered office in May 2017 with an 84 percent approval rate, his watches were in high public demand as several celebrities and public figures showed them off on social media, according to news reports (archived link).
Kim personally showed off the watch and her Instagram photo on another TV show called "Weekly Idol" on May 23, 2018 (archived link).
"I went to a gig at the Blue House for Children's Day and told the president twice, 'I really want a watch'," she told her fellow hosts.
"I got one shortly after," she added.
Below is a screenshot comparison between the photo shared with the misleading post on Facebook (left) and the photo broadcast on "Weekly Idol" in May 2018 (right):
KBS said on March 8 its decision to substitute the show's host was owed to "a decline in viewership" since Kim took charge of the programme (archived link).
According to local reports, including here and here, Kim's agency said she and the show's crew were unilaterally informed of the decision the week before (archived links here and here).
This story was corrected to specify that former South Korean president Moon Jae-in took office in May 2017. A previous version of the story incorrectly said he took office in May 2022.March 12, 2024 This story was corrected to specify that former South Korean president Moon Jae-in took office in May 2017. A previous version of the story incorrectly said he took office in May 2022.
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