'Oh Eun-young's Report: Marriage Hell' on break for 'internal reorganization'

MBC’s reality show “Oh Eun-young's Report: Marriage Hell” will take a two-week break for “internal reorganization,” according to the broadcaster on Monday. The announcement comes after MBC faced backlash for an episode aired on Dec. 19, which ...

MBC’s reality show “Oh Eun-young's Report: Marriage Hell” will take a two-week break for “internal reorganization,” following backlash toward a recent episode. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

MBC’s reality show “Oh Eun-young's Report: Marriage Hell” will take a two-week break for “internal reorganization,” according to the broadcaster on Monday.

The announcement comes after MBC faced backlash for an episode aired on Dec. 19, which showed a seven-year-old girl being raised by her mother and stepfather.

Viewers expressed outrage after seeing the stepfather make inappropriate physical contact with the girl, claiming he was playing a game, while she strongly protested. The show was accused of allowing a child to be sexually harassed and airing it on television.

Oh Eun-young, a renowned psychiatrist and the show’s host, also faced criticism for comments that appeared to play down the incident. Oh has been well-known for numerous appearances on child and marriage counseling shows.

Oh issued a statement on Dec. 23 saying that the episode failed to reflect the full scope of her comments enough due to heavy editing, and that she does not condone any physical touch against a child’s will.

As of Monday, the show has received over 3,600 viewer complaints, according to data from Korea Communications Standards Commission obtained by People Power Party lawmaker Kim Yeung-shik.

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]