Do Kyung-wan Has a 12 Billion-Won Home, Just 250,000 Won in the Bank... 'Poverty Cosplay' Controversy

Request filed with e-People for review of October 22 episode
"Public broadcaster must fulfill its responsibilities and uphold public interest and fairness"

KBS 2TV's "Fun-Staurant," which featured broadcaster Do Kyung-wan's frugal lifestyle, has become the subject of a broadcast review.

Screenshot from KBS broadcast.

According to TenAsia on October 29, a person identified only as A filed a complaint with the e-People portal asking that the episode aired on October 22 be reviewed.

In the episode cited by A, Do Kyung-wan said, "After the stock market fell and I paid into a rotating savings club, I had 2,547,950,000 won left in my bank account." He showed his family collecting water to flush the toilet and turning off the air conditioner even in hot weather, as well as removing the batteries from the remote control. He also mentioned that the water bill had risen by about 58,000 won in a month.

A argued that placing these scenes one after another could give viewers the impression that the entire family was struggling financially. However, A said the complaint was not intended to criticize Do Kyung-wan's personal spending habits or approach to saving, but argued that it was necessary to examine what economic circumstances the captions and editing conveyed to viewers.

A said Article 14 of the Regulations on Broadcast Review requires broadcasters to cover facts accurately and objectively, and added, "KBS, a public broadcaster funded primarily by television license fees paid by the public, must fulfill its public responsibilities under Article 44, Paragraph 1 of the Broadcasting Act and uphold fairness and public interest."

Earlier, Do Kyung-wan and his wife, Jang Yoon-jung, reportedly sold Nine One Hannam, where they had been living, for 12 billion won in 2024, making a profit of about 7 billion won. They later reportedly bought a penthouse at Apel Han River in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, for about 12 billion won, paying the full amount in cash without a loan.

Some online commenters criticized the couple, asking whether showing their bank balance and an extremely frugal lifestyle on television while living in a high-priced home amounted to "poverty cosplay."

Meanwhile, on October 29, Do Kyung-wan announced that he would be leaving "Fun-Staurant," which aired that day, as well as KBS Joy's "Men Who Run Charts," where he had served as a host for four years. He said the latter program was not being canceled and that only he was being replaced, expressing regret at leaving the last regular program he had been appearing on.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.