The top two trending topics on the Korean SNS today: Kim Hyun and Kim Boo Sun. Why are Korean netizens talking about them? What kind of “scandal” are they involved in?
#1 Kim Hyun
Kim Hyun is the number one trending topic today. She is a member of the parliament (just like Philippine-born Jasmine Lee) who belongs to the opposition party. The other night (around 12:40 a.m. on September 17), she was having a drink with families of the Sewol ferry victims. It is customary in Korea that when someone drinks (and can’t drive), a substitute driver or a chauffeur is called for. The substitute driver is called 대리기사 or “dae-ri-gi-sa” in Korean. When the substitute driver arrived, the assembly member Kim Hyun was still drinking so he was made to wait. After 30 minutes, the driver had an argument with Kim Hyun because she continued to drink. According to the news he said “I’ve been waiting for more than 30 minutes, I can’t wait anymore.” One of the family members said “Do you know who you’re talking to? She’s a member of the parliament.”
Substitute drivers don’t earn a lot and some are lucky enough to have even just one customer at night. (I learned this from a documentary I saw on KBS) The family of the Sewol ferry victims argued with the driver and apparently started to gang up on him 5:1. Two passersby saw the commotion and tried to stop the fight but got hurt in the end.
Police is still investigating the CCTV of the incident.
Here’s the story and CCTV of that night.
#2 Kim Boo Seon
Kim Boo Seon has been a trending topic for a few days now and she is on the number 2 spot this morning. She is an actress in Korea and you might have seen her in “Monster”, “My Neighbor’s Wife” and “Arang and the Magistrate” among many. She lives in Seongdong-gu, which is a district near Gangnam-gu. On September 12, while attending a neighborhood meeting she was involved in a fight.
Allegedly, she or the other party started the attack after questioning and arguing about the heating bill of their apartment. (They don’t have private heating?) She argued that some residents are not paying their heating bill and are stealing from others. She said she was just standing up for the victims.
Here’s the story and the CCTV of the assault.