THE BOYZ’s Sangyeon Under Fire For Allegedly Mentioning Oral Sex In A Now-Deleted Scene

In a behind-the-scenes video uploaded to their official YouTube channel, THE BOYZ members were seen practicing for their second world tour.

Following the upload, however, some K-Pop fans raised questions about member Sangyeon‘s allegedly “inappropriate” comment that got recorded in the background.

Assumed to have been made about the choreography of one member on his knees and another walking toward the kneeled member, the comment (0:04-0:05) is accused of sounding like, “sakkasi,” a lesser-known Korean slang to mean oral sex—derived from a Japanese end-blown flute instrument shakuhachi.

ㅅㅏ까시 발언 개잘들리는데? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ 평소에 이런말 하고 논다니 28세남성아…. 뒤에 new가 놀라서 형!! 하는것도 개빼박 pic.twitter.com/ErjDTJb0RQ

— 이누랭커!!!! (@enugae) July 29, 2023

You can f*cking hear the sakkasi comment loud and clear. LMAO. I can’t believe this 28-year-old male goes around saying stuff like this on the daily… I also can’t even with New getting caught by surprise and screaming ‘Hyung!’ at him. So obvious.

— @enugae/Twitter

While it is unclear what the member actually said, K-Pop fans are more convinced than not that the nature of the comment was sexual, based on how the two members mid-dance were “positioned” when the comment was made.

Online communities, like theqoo, had an immediate reaction to the word; And soon, the video was edited—removing the scene in its entirety. Regardless, K-Pop fans shared a lot of mixed opinions about Sangyeon’s use of the word.

Some criticized Sangyeon for being careless, especially with staff members and cameras around. Others criticized him for even knowing the word at all—pointing out that it is one of the most degrading and “pornographic” names given to the sexual act.

• “Sakkasi…? REALLY? I can’t believe he’d use such a word like that.”
• “If he has no problem commenting stuff like that with all the cameras and staff members around, I can’t even imagine what he’d sound like off the record.”
• “I’ve never even heard of this word. Is it a super disgusting term?”
• “THE BOYZ, again? I’m not even surprised.”
• [Deleted Comment]
• “Such regulars at finding themselves in the middle of controversies…”
• “Again?”
• “WAY over the line for commenting stuff like that in front of all the cameras.”
• “THE BOYZ again? Geez… The members better be grateful for their fans because I feel like their fans stick with them through literal sh*t.”
• “I’m mind-blown that his mind went ORAL SEX as soon as that part of the choreo came around. LMAO. In the gutters, much? And for him to comment it out loud without filtering himself… I’m speechless. I wonder if he’s like this all the time.”

• “No… This is insane.”
• “This group never fails to trend for all the wrong reasons. A co-worker of mine likes this group, so whenever something trends about them, I click. And each time, I’m… speechless.”
• “WTF… Stanning THE BOYZ is the most extreme. I’m f*cking tired.”
• “Thanks to the idol, now I know what that word means… LMAO. How vulgar.”
• “Oh… Wow…”
• “BARF.”
• “I’m fine with them talking about it on their own or whatever… But for him to legit SHOUT it with all those cameras running AND staff members watching? I’m stunned.”
• “The comment came right when one of the members kneeled. The comment is 100% about what we think it’s about.”
• “Whoa… Must’ve gone out of his mind. LMAO.”

Some came to Sangyeon’s defense and doubted that the idol said what is being alleged, suggesting that it “isn’t what it sounds like.”

Neither THE BOYZ nor the management at IST Entertainment has responded to the backlash. Meanwhile, K-Pop fans are taking the fact that the video was edited as a telltale sign of the management recognizing the issue and doing damage control.