Shim Su-bong controversy grows after public remarks targeting 17-year-old singer Kim Da-hyun

Onstage remarks at the Jinan festival

At the 10th Jinan Plateau Trot Festival in Jinan-gun, Jeollabuk-do on September 20, veteran singer Shim Su-bong directed pointed criticism at Kim Da-hyun, a 17-year-old trot singer who had performed immediately before her.

From the stage, Shim Su-bong said, "The young lady doesn't seem to know what singing or life is," and told organizers, "Please don't put this player in front of me going forward." She later called the remarks "a slip of the tongue" and apologized to Kim Da-hyun and her family.

Past Daegu incident resurfaces

The apology didn't contain the fallout. Accounts of a separate incident at a Daegu concert several years ago began circulating online, widening the backlash. Trot singer Jung Mi-ae had performed before Shim Su-bong and worked to warm up the crowd. Shim Su-bong then reportedly said, "Is that person also a singer?" and "Don't put someone with such a loud voice in front of me."

One witness account added that at the same Daegu concert, Shim Su-bong sang while seated, citing leg pain, and treated a rookie singer harshly. (None of these Daegu-incident details have been confirmed by a second outlet, so treat them as circulating claims rather than established fact.)

The confirmed Jinan remarks and the resurfacing Daegu accounts together explain why the controversy kept growing.