The Lotte Giants YouTube channel, which sparked the Ilbe controversy. Photo | Giants TV
[Sports Seoul | Reporter Kang Dong-hyun] Just as gambling suspensions were lifted and the team seemed ready to escape the lower ranks, Lotte has stirred up trouble again—this time through its official YouTube channel. The club found itself at the center of controversy for blatantly using terms from the far-right online community “Ilgan Best” (Ilbe).
On May 11, a video posted on “Giants TV” showed the dugout from the previous day’s game against KIA. In the footage, the character “No” from player Noh Jin-hyuk’s surname was combined with the phrase “endless applause” to create “No-muhan applause”—a derogatory expression used by Ilbe to mock the late former President Roh Moo-hyun.
The incident was particularly sensitive as it occurred during a game against KIA, a team from Gwangju, and just days before the May 18 Democratic Uprising anniversary. This timing amplified the backlash.
The shadow of Ilbe looms large over the sanctity of sports, emerging time and again when least expected. It has been over a decade.
A hand gesture appeared on a KBO League live broadcast screen. Photo | SBS Sports
In June 2017, an inexplicable hand gesture appeared on SBS Sports’ live KBO League broadcast. Captured by a camera filming the ceremonial first pitch before a game, the gesture resembled the Ilbe member authentication sign—thumb and index finger forming a circle, with the middle and little fingers extended. This took place during a Samsung vs. KIA game in Gwangju.
A distorted Yonsei University logo in a sports news broadcast. Photo | SBS
In October 2013, SBS’s terrestrial sports news sparked controversy. While reporting on Korea University’s decisive victory over Yonsei University in a regular rivalry basketball game, the broadcast used an altered version of Yonsei’s logo. Instead of the normal “YS” (Yonsei), it displayed a distorted version resembling “IB” (Ilbe).
The distorted Chelsea logo used in broadcast (left) and the original. Photo | JTBC ‘Ssulzun’
In August 2015, another logo-related broadcasting incident occurred. On JTBC’s “Ssulzun,” while discussing sports marketing, the show used an Ilbe-inspired version of the English Premier League club Chelsea’s logo. The original standing lion was replaced with one in a wheelchair, which was interpreted as a derogatory reference to both Chelsea fans and people with disabilities.
Extremist factions have subtly embedded themselves in sports broadcasts, promoting hate and discrimination. Sports themselves are innocent.
