WINNER‘s Mino is under fire for expressing Korea as “yeoldo.” Yeoldo is a term that is literally translated as “ten islands,” and is used to refer to the Japan Archipelago.

On 2014 SBS Gayo Daejun which aired on December 21, actress Song Ji Hyo and the Lucky Boys (2PM‘s Nichkhun, CNBLUE‘s Jung Yong Hwa, B1A4‘s Baro, WINNER‘s Mino, INFINITE‘s L) hosted the ceremony.

While MCing, however, Mino said, “That shook up the Korean ‘yeoldo,'” which wrongly associated Korea with Japan. With the tense and still-fresh history of the Japanese Occupation in Korea, the mistake incited shock and anger in many Korean viewers.

While many of the viewers recognized that it was mainly a mistake on the part of the script writers, many still put some responsibility on Mino, arguing that he should have recognized that the script was inappropriate and should not have made the comment.

This script error was not by any means the only mistake that SBS Gayo Daejun made that day. While it was a long-awaited ceremony, it brought huge disappointment as there were a large number of troubles including audio problems and camera shots that were difficult to understand.

Update:

Local news source Osen reports that Mino apologized for the mistake, saying, “I sincerely apologize. Everything is due to my mistake and negligence.”

SBS associates also offered their apologizes, saying, “It wasn’t Song Mino’s mistake. It was the production’s mistake. We apologize.” The PD of SBS Gayo Daejun, Kim Joo Hyung, added, “Song Mino did well, but because the situation turned like this, we are sorry.” He explained that since the only way they can control the length of the live show is through the addition or subtraction of the comments by the MCs on the spot by the staff, some of the comments were unable to be reviewed properly and the mistake by the production team occurred.

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