Lee Su-ji’s civil servant parody video sparks backlash, producers apologize

Comedian Lee Su-ji released a YouTube parody titled “Civil servant Kim Ji‑young’s iron rice bowl” that satirises the heavy workload, low pay and demanding citizens faced by Korean civil servants. In the video a citizen shouts “re‑election! re‑election!” which was interpreted as mocking the 2022 local‑election ballot‑shortage protests. The clip quickly amassed over 1 million views and more than 13,000 comments, many of which criticized the scene as politically insensitive.

Following the outcry, the production team of the “Hot Issue” channel edited out the contentious segment and posted a public apology. They said the video was not intended to convey any political stance, acknowledged poor judgment in using a sensitive issue, and pledged more responsible content creation in the future.