Disney+ 'Battle of Fates' Production Team Officially Apologizes Again for Insulting Fallen Police and Firefighters

The production team of the Disney+ variety show 〈Battle of Fates〉 has once again expressed an official apology regarding the controversy of insulting fallen police officers and firefighters by using their causes of death as mission material.

The 〈Battle of Fates〉 team stated in an official statement released on the 24th, "We sincerely apologize to the fallen individuals, the bereaved families who may have been hurt, their colleagues, and many others who have been concerned about this matter for the inappropriate language and descriptions that appeared while the shaman guest was performing a reading without knowing the deceased."

The production team explained, "We express our deep condolences and respect to the fallen individuals featured in the program and their bereaved families," adding, "Currently, we are listening to the stories of the bereaved families, apologizing for not considering their feelings in advance, and working towards a resolution." They also stated, "In the future, we will pay more careful attention to the overall production of the broadcast and strengthen our internal review and production processes."

The controversy originated from the second episode of 〈Battle of Fates〉 released on the 11th. In this episode, there was a mission to guess the cause of death of the late Officer Lee Jae-hyun, who died after being stabbed while apprehending a suspect in a violent crime in 2004. During this process, a guest shaman stated, "Isn't it common to refer to being stabbed as 'knife stabbing'? You can see the stabbing too," which was aired with the MC Jeon Hyun-moo and other panelists expressing surprise.

In the same episode, there was also a problematic scene where some cast members mentioned the possibility of fire, collapse, and suffocation regarding the cause of death of the late Firefighter Kim Cheol-hong, who died in a fire in Hongje-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul in 2001. The bereaved families and the firefighters' union officially raised concerns, and the production team, which initially responded that they had obtained consent from the bereaved families for the use of the likeness, issued a separate apology to the families of the firefighters and their colleagues as criticism continued.

The National Police Workers' Association (Police Workers' Union) expressed deep anger and dismay in a previously released statement, stating, "We strongly protest against the ignorant behavior of the cast and production team who belittled the sacrifice of public servants who died in the line of duty with vulgar slang and made it a subject of amusement."

〈Battle of Fates〉 is a survival variety show where 49 fate practitioners perform various missions to test their destinies.