South Korean Ministry of Education Removes KwakTube PSA Video: Controversy Surrounding APRIL Naeun’s Latest YouTube Appearance Explained

The South Korean Ministry of Education privatized a public service announcement (PSA) video featuring popular YouTuber KwakTube on September 17, 2024. The PSA was initially uploaded on the Ministry’s official channel on September 13, drawing significant attention.

This decision was made in response to public outrage following a video featuring former April member Lee Na-eun, also known as Naeun, which was released on KwakTube’s channel on September 16. In this video, KwakTube discussed his personal experience with high school bullying, stating,

“When people around me talk about school bullying, I become sensitive because I was a victim myself. So when I heard rumors about you being involved in bullying, I blocked you after seeing the articles.”

He elaborated on how, as a victim of bullying, he reacted strongly to Naeun’s bullying allegations and blocked her on social media. However, once Naeun was exonerated from the bullying accusations, he realized he needed to apologize.

“But I later saw that it wasn’t true, so I unblocked you, but you already knew about it. I’ve never talked to you about this directly, but I felt guilty because, as a victim, I may have hurt someone who was falsely accused. I feel bad. As a victim of bullying, I’ve talked about it a lot, but I think I may have also hurt people who were misunderstood.”

The primary objective of the PSA on the Ministry of Education’s channel was to encourage viewers to “notice, empathize, and report school violence to help prevent it.”

However, Naeun’s mention of her bullying controversy during her appearance on KwakTube’s video sparked further outrage among South Korean netizens, leading to the government’s decision to privatize his PSA video and remove his personal interview with Naeun from his channel.

KwakTube Apologizes to Naeun for Misunderstanding Amid Her Bullying Controversy

Naeun faced accusations in 2020 regarding internal conflicts within the group April, particularly involving Lee Hyun-joo, a former member. Naeun and her fellow group members were accused of bullying Hyunjoo, and subsequently, an anonymous account accused Naeun of high school bullying.

Fortunately, the allegations against her were dismissed after it became evident that the anonymous accuser had a history of defamation. Despite this, April disbanded in 2020, and following her acquittal, Naeun signed with Namoo Actors.

In KwakTube’s video, Naeun shared that she was aware many of her acquaintances had blocked her due to the controversy, but she had managed to overcome her feelings about the situation over time.

“We’ve met a few times since then, and I jokingly mentioned that you blocked me. But honestly, I thought it was something that wouldn’t upset me after some time had passed. It was upsetting that so many people misunderstood me and blocked me, but I wasn’t angry anymore.”

KwakTube expressed remorse to Naeun, acknowledging that being seven years her senior, he should have refrained from making rash judgments. Nonetheless, this video did not sit well with South Korean netizens, resulting in widespread criticism and the eventual removal of the video from KwakTube’s personal YouTube channel.

Recently, KwakTube appeared as a special guest on BTS’ Jin’s variety show, RUN JIN, specifically in episodes 4 and 5, available on BTS’ official YouTube channel, BANGTANTV.

Source