BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhuanet) -- A South Korean TV host for Channel A news, has sparked outrage for saying it was fortunate that the two teenage victims were Chinese instead of South Koreans. TV presenter Yoon Kyeong-min said it’s fortunate if South Koreans look at it from their point of view while reporting on the news of the deaths.

The Channel A TV host’s words have prompted fury in both China and South Korea. Channel A has issued an apology to Chinese people through South Korea’s Embassy in China. The statement said the host did not report the news smoothly during the live broadcast, and called it a wrong and rash comment.

South Koreans have criticized the comments online for not being respectful to people’s lives, saying they were shocked that a TV host could say such words during a live broadcast.

Some South Korean journalists have also said that media personnel need to be more respectful to people’s lives. They say they hoped such irresponsible words will not harm the feelings of the two peoples.

"Lives have the same value no matter what nationalities they are. Reports can’t be like that. The reporter might have made a mistake during an emergency report," a South Korean journalist said.

"The nationalities of the victims are not important. We should feel sympathy while reporting such accidents. No matter if it’s a mistake, reporters should be very careful while reporting such sensitive issues."

(Source: cntv.cn)