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Would You Marry Me?, starring Jung So Min and Choi Woo Shik, has found itself in controversy despite its ongoing success and high viewership ratings. The SBS weekend drama recently aired episodes that sparked public outrage for the way they handled a storyline involving a young s*xual crime offender. Viewers criticized the series for its insensitivity and poor messaging, leading the network to remove related promotional materials from its platforms.
The controversy began with a subplot featuring supporting actors Bae Nara and Shin Seulki, who play romantic partners in the show. During a morning run sequence, Shin Seulki’s character performs CPR on a man who suddenly collapses, during which her shirt slightly rides up. A nearby young boy is shown secretly taking photos of the scene. Bae Nara’s character then confronts the boy, physically assaults him, and lectures him on the legal implications of his behavior before deleting the photos and letting him go with a verbal warning.
What particularly angered viewers was the treatment of the issue as a moral lesson rather than a criminal act. Many felt that the drama downplayed the gravity of s*xual harassment and missed an opportunity to educate audiences about consent, privacy, and appropriate legal consequences. Others criticized the male character’s “protective” behavior, arguing that it reinforced outdated gender dynamics rather than addressing the real problem.
SBS further fueled backlash when it uploaded short promotional clips of the scene under the caption, “Rich kid caught secretly filming Shin Seulki, Bae Nara gives a satisfying lesson.” The wording was widely condemned for trivializing the situation, making it seem more like a comedic or romantic subplot than a serious violation. The channel has since deleted all related content, likely in response to the public criticism and concerns over its impact on younger viewers.
Though the network has yet to issue an official apology, the incident has sparked a broader discussion in South Korea about how mainstream dramas portray crimes involving privacy violations and the responsibilities of broadcasters in handling sensitive topics.