Last month, on the 29th, in "Law of the Jungle", a jungle survival entertainment program on SBS, broadcast actress, Lee Yeol-eum, was seen collecting three specimens of a species of giant clams. Also, the preview showed the cast cooking and eating the clams. After broadcasting it, at Thailand's SNS, a controversy arose over the actress collecting giant clams.

▲ In ˝Law of the Jungle˝ Lee Yeol-eum was seen collecting giant clams.

Collecting giant clams is a problem for the Thais because these are endangered species protected by the Wildlife Order. Hat Chiao Mai National Park said that the collection took place near the Andaman Sea, part of the national park and that a Thai company hired by SBS as a coordinator to film the program has requested permission from the National Park's Wildlife and Plant Protection Agency for filming. They said that they must be aware of the regulation. At first, the production crew of "Law of the Jungle" said they were admitted in the field's public institution, and they filmed following a native's guideline. They also said they did not do anything wrong.

▲ The production crew said they were admitted in the field`s public institution.

However, it was a lie. The document that Producer Yongjae Cho submitted to Thailand's Tourism Authority was revealed. It was stated that throughout the filming, there will be no filming and presentation of content about hunting in Thailand. Moreover, there is a controversy over fabrication. A diver said that it does not make sense for Lee Yeol-eum to come out with a giant clam because there are often accidents where a diver's foot is stuck in the giant clam's mouth and cannot escape. He added that maybe the production team's pre-arranged production was directed by Lee Yeol-eum.

▲ The document submitted to Thailand`s Tourism Authority was revealed.

So, who do we hold accountable for this? Is it appropriate to make Lee Yeol-eum responsible? She was just part of the cast of the show, and her action was only for the broadcast, Generally, affairs that happen during the shooting are served by the production. Further, in programs that are shooting at a foreign country like "Law of the Jungle", the activities to be done are served by the production team, unlike other programs. Therefore, they have to check all the things. So, the one that should be held accountable should be the production team of "Law of the Jungle".

July 13th, 2019

Pyo Seung Hee