Youtuber Iljooeoter (real name Kim Juyeon), who has over 660,000 subscribers, sparked controversy by calling the Korean baseball (KBO) team Hanhwa Eagles a “gangster group,” but later apologized.
Iljooeoter made the controversial remarks about the Hanhwa Eagles during a video on his YouTube channel ‘New Jams’ on the 14th. He said, “Hanhwa doesn’t even fight back” while discussing the KBO league.
Known as a fan of the Lotte Giants, Iljooeoter continued to make comments such as “Hanhwa seems like a gangster group” and “closed-off organizational culture.”
The video quickly spread within the baseball fan community, drawing strong criticism towards Iljooeoter. Netizens expressed disbelief and anger, saying, “It’s ridiculous that Hanhwa became a target of criticism” and “I can’t understand why he made such a video” and “This is making Lotte a scapegoat” and “Who is he to judge others?”
Subsequently, the production team of ‘New Jams’ issued an apology through the YouTube community the next day, stating, “We sincerely apologize to the Hanhwa fans who may have felt uncomfortable. There were inappropriate comments about Hanhwa’s internal culture and inaccurate remarks about Hanhwa fans and related officials in the video.”
They admitted that they should have been more careful in the editing process and acknowledged the disappointment and discomfort caused to many due to a judgement error. They stated that the comments could have hurt others and accepted full responsibility for the mistake.
Additionally, they announced that the video would be made private and deleted.
Iljooeoter also apologized, saying, “I sincerely apologize for causing harm with my thoughtless words.” He reflected on his excitement as a baseball fan and admitted to being reckless and careless in his remarks related to baseball content.