Jeong Hyun Gyu, known for his appearances on ‘EXchange 2’, ‘The Devil’s Plan: Death Room’, and other reality series, has responded to a wave of online criticism by updating his social media profile to read: “I’m sorry.”

On May 14, the actor’s personal account displayed the new profile message following the release of Episode 8 of ‘The Devil’s Plan: Death Room’, which aired on May 13. 

The episode drew attention to a particular scene in which Jeong, in alliance with fellow contestant Choi Hyun Joon, appeared frustrated when Choi deviated from their game strategy. Jeong was seen asking, in a sarcastic tone, “Do you even know basic arithmetic?” a remark that quickly stirred controversy among viewers.

Though the comment seemed to stem from confusion and strategic tension within the game, the tone and phrasing did not sit well with many. Viewers criticized Jeong’s manner of speaking, calling it unnecessarily condescending, and took to his SNS to voice their displeasure.

Some users left comments like, “He asked a KAIST math major if he knows how to do arithmetic,” and “Why do you keep calling Seven High ‘Poker Player’?” along with more aggressive and explicit criticism.

Previously, Jeong had set his SNS profile message to “Not Park Hyun Gyu,” distancing himself from a similarly named individual. Following the backlash, however, he quietly changed the message to “I’m sorry,” seemingly offering an indirect response to the criticism from the show’s second week of episodes.

Meanwhile, ‘The Devil’s Plan: Death Room’, now streaming on Netflix, is a brain survival game show where players from various professional backgrounds live together for seven days and compete in intellectual challenges. The final episode is scheduled for release on May 20.

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