Row deepens between Kim, KBS over blacklist
Published on | Source
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff reporter
Does posing questions about a blacklist of celebrities by a company constitute grounds for a lawsuit? Moreover, does the state-run broadcaster KBS actually have one?
Comedienne-turned-TV hostess Kim Mi-hwa denounced KBS for being "narrow-minded", Monday, after the TV station sued her over a message she posted on her Twitter account.
"Twitter is a personal space and I was venting", she said at a press conference in Seoul.
"I never said there was a blacklist, but rather asked other people to verify its existence. As one of the most popular comediennes in KBS history, I thought I had the right to ask. I don't understand why KBS had to fight back with a lawsuit", she said.
Two weeks ago, Kim tweeted: "I was told that I could not be in any KBS programs because my name is on its blacklist. If that is true, it is a pity because I have worked with many of the staff over 20 years. When someone came up with the blacklist theory sometime ago, I didn't believe it. I hope some KBS insider will verify the rumor".
The message was posted after she was rejected by the KBS board as the narrator of a documentary in April.
KBS management said that her voice did not suit the film's direction but it was widely speculated that Kim, one of the most outspoken liberal entertainers here, was spurned by the conservative management of the broadcaster.
At the press conference, Kim made public a copy of a "KBS internal document" showing that its board members "found some troublesome persons still working for KBS as narrators" and that they "think something went wrong with the gate keeping".
She added, "This (document) made many people come up with the blacklist theory".
After the press conference, Kim went to Yeongdeungpo Police Station. "If expressing discontent via Twitter is a crime, I will be happy to be handcuffed", she said.
However, KBS swiftly refuted that the document made public by Kim does not necessarily mean the existence of a blacklist.
"The part of the narrator at the center of the dispute has nothing to do with political or ideological disputes. It was just about basic qualifications", it said in a statement issued after the press conference.
KBS recently disclosed a list of entertainers banned from appearing on its programs — mainly people convicted of crimes — and neither Kim nor any liberal figures were mentioned.
The station filed a suit against Kim, claiming that she had defamed KBS.
"We found Kim inappropriate for the narrator position because her pronunciation, intonation and other manners of speaking didn't fit the program. We are upset that she didn't apologize to KBS. We will continue with the lawsuit", KBS spokesman Han Sang-deok said.
김미화, 블랙리스트 관련 KBS와 갈등 심화
한 회사에 유명인들의 블랙리스트에 관해 의문을 제기한다고 소송을 당할 근거가 되나요? 더 나아가서, 공영방송인 KBS가?
방송인 김미화씨는 KBS에게 트위터에 올린 글로 고소당하고 난 월요일 KBS를 "속이 좁다"고 비난했다. 김씨는 서울의 한 기자회견장에서 "트위터는 개인적인 공간으로 불평을 했을 뿐이고 블랙리스트가 있다고 한적이 없고 사람들에게 그게 존재하는지 물어본 것"이라고 말했다.
지난 4월 KBS 다큐멘터리 진행직을 거부당한 김씨는 2주전 트위터에 "내 이름이 KBS 블랙리스트에 있다고 들었다. KBS관계자가 루머를 밝혀주길 바란다"고 적었다. KBS측은 출연거부는 김씨의 목소리가 작품의 방향과 맞지 않기 때문이라고 말했지만 진보적인 김씨가 보수적인 방송국의 성향과 정치적으로 어긋나기 때문이라는 주장이 강하게 제기되고 있다.
김씨는 기자회견장에서 "KBS내부문서"의 사본을 보여주며 "KBS에서 진행자로 일하는 골치 아픈 사람들을 찾았다", "문단속을 잘 못했다" 등의 문구를 보여줬다. 기자회견 후 김씨는 영등포 경찰서로 향했다. 김씨는 "만약 트위터를 통해 불만을 표출하는 것이 죄라면, 수갑을 달게 차겠다"라고 말했다.
하지만 KBS는 김씨가 공개한 문서가 블랙리스트의 존재를 입증할 수 없다고 못박았다. KBS는 "정치나 이념과는 전혀 상관 없다. 단지 기본적인 능력의 문제"라고 말했다.
Staff reporter
Does posing questions about a blacklist of celebrities by a company constitute grounds for a lawsuit? Moreover, does the state-run broadcaster KBS actually have one?
Comedienne-turned-TV hostess Kim Mi-hwa denounced KBS for being "narrow-minded", Monday, after the TV station sued her over a message she posted on her Twitter account.
"Twitter is a personal space and I was venting", she said at a press conference in Seoul.
"I never said there was a blacklist, but rather asked other people to verify its existence. As one of the most popular comediennes in KBS history, I thought I had the right to ask. I don't understand why KBS had to fight back with a lawsuit", she said.
Two weeks ago, Kim tweeted: "I was told that I could not be in any KBS programs because my name is on its blacklist. If that is true, it is a pity because I have worked with many of the staff over 20 years. When someone came up with the blacklist theory sometime ago, I didn't believe it. I hope some KBS insider will verify the rumor".
The message was posted after she was rejected by the KBS board as the narrator of a documentary in April.
KBS management said that her voice did not suit the film's direction but it was widely speculated that Kim, one of the most outspoken liberal entertainers here, was spurned by the conservative management of the broadcaster.
At the press conference, Kim made public a copy of a "KBS internal document" showing that its board members "found some troublesome persons still working for KBS as narrators" and that they "think something went wrong with the gate keeping".
She added, "This (document) made many people come up with the blacklist theory".
After the press conference, Kim went to Yeongdeungpo Police Station. "If expressing discontent via Twitter is a crime, I will be happy to be handcuffed", she said.
However, KBS swiftly refuted that the document made public by Kim does not necessarily mean the existence of a blacklist.
"The part of the narrator at the center of the dispute has nothing to do with political or ideological disputes. It was just about basic qualifications", it said in a statement issued after the press conference.
KBS recently disclosed a list of entertainers banned from appearing on its programs — mainly people convicted of crimes — and neither Kim nor any liberal figures were mentioned.
The station filed a suit against Kim, claiming that she had defamed KBS.
"We found Kim inappropriate for the narrator position because her pronunciation, intonation and other manners of speaking didn't fit the program. We are upset that she didn't apologize to KBS. We will continue with the lawsuit", KBS spokesman Han Sang-deok said.
김미화, 블랙리스트 관련 KBS와 갈등 심화
한 회사에 유명인들의 블랙리스트에 관해 의문을 제기한다고 소송을 당할 근거가 되나요? 더 나아가서, 공영방송인 KBS가?
방송인 김미화씨는 KBS에게 트위터에 올린 글로 고소당하고 난 월요일 KBS를 "속이 좁다"고 비난했다. 김씨는 서울의 한 기자회견장에서 "트위터는 개인적인 공간으로 불평을 했을 뿐이고 블랙리스트가 있다고 한적이 없고 사람들에게 그게 존재하는지 물어본 것"이라고 말했다.
지난 4월 KBS 다큐멘터리 진행직을 거부당한 김씨는 2주전 트위터에 "내 이름이 KBS 블랙리스트에 있다고 들었다. KBS관계자가 루머를 밝혀주길 바란다"고 적었다. KBS측은 출연거부는 김씨의 목소리가 작품의 방향과 맞지 않기 때문이라고 말했지만 진보적인 김씨가 보수적인 방송국의 성향과 정치적으로 어긋나기 때문이라는 주장이 강하게 제기되고 있다.
김씨는 기자회견장에서 "KBS내부문서"의 사본을 보여주며 "KBS에서 진행자로 일하는 골치 아픈 사람들을 찾았다", "문단속을 잘 못했다" 등의 문구를 보여줬다. 기자회견 후 김씨는 영등포 경찰서로 향했다. 김씨는 "만약 트위터를 통해 불만을 표출하는 것이 죄라면, 수갑을 달게 차겠다"라고 말했다.
하지만 KBS는 김씨가 공개한 문서가 블랙리스트의 존재를 입증할 수 없다고 못박았다. KBS는 "정치나 이념과는 전혀 상관 없다. 단지 기본적인 능력의 문제"라고 말했다.
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