Dok2 Under Fire For Inconsiderate Comment During Explanation On Parent’s Debt Scandal

Dok2 has been under fire for an inconsiderate comment made during his explanation of his parent’s debt scandal.

A woman who is known as Dok2’s mother’s middle school classmate has claimed that the rapper’s mother, who was running a large restaurant in Busan, borrowed 10 million KRW ($8,860 USD) after the IMF Crisis and did not repay the borrowed money. In addition, the woman said she filed a civil suit to the Daegu District Court and won the case, but was not able to receive the money. She claimed that it was painful for her to watch Dok2 succeed.

After hearing the news, Dok2 immediately responded by starting a live broadcast to explain. In the broadcast, Dok2 explained that he and his family have never disappeared and that he has not used the money that was borrowed to live a life of comfort.

“It seems like people are trying to connect me to the Microdot case because we were in the same group but I have never disappeared and have not lived a life with a silver spoon with that money. We are here.”

ㅡ Dok2

He then stated that 10 million KRW ($8,860 USD) is not an amount that is sufficient to change one’s life and admitted that his mother had borrowed a total of 10 million KRW because of their failing restaurant.

“10 million KRW? Would 10 million KRW change our lives? Would it? At the time, my mother had things to take care of because of our failing restaurant so I think she borrowed 5 million KRW twice, I’m not sure about the details. I don’t plan to sue any reporters or anything, I’m just giving an explanation.”

ㅡ Dok2

What angered netizens, however, was how he explained that a “mere 10 million KRW” only adds up to one month’s worth of food costs for him.

“10 million KRW? Come on man. That’s my one month’s worth of food costs. Do you think, at the time, if we borrowed that money and disappeared, it would have made our lives better?”

ㅡ Dok2

He continued to add that if it were a matter of 1 billion KRW ($884,000 USD), 2 billion KRW ($1.7 million USD) or 10 billion KRW ($8.8 million USD), then he would look into it and apologize, but stating to the press that seeing Dok2 succeed was painful to watch with a “mere 10 million KRW” from 20 years ago was nonsense.

“If it were 1 billion, 2 billion or 10 billion KRW, then we’d look into it, pay it back and apologize but for 5 million KRW that was borrowed twice for my mom’s urgent issue for her store, saying that she was hurt watching me succeed on TV is just b*llshit. How can I have lived with a silver spoon with that 10 million KRW that my mom already used for another purpose?”

ㅡ Dok2

What Dok2 failed to consider was the value of 10 million KRW during the IMF Crisis. The IMF Crisis, or Asian Financial Crisis, refers to the devastating financial crisis that the Koreans experienced in the late 1990’s caused by severe foreign exchange shortage. While 10,000 million KRW is still a big sum of money today, it could easily have changed the life of a family during the IMF Crisis.

Although netizens understand Dok2’s frustration about the situation and appreciate his explanation, they have been criticizing him for making unnecessary comments that are condescending in tone.

• “Families of 4 who live off of not even half of your food costs are the majority. Let’s think about what you say when writing on public platforms, not in your diary.”
• “You could’ve just said I’m sorry…We’ve already paid off the debt…Why bring up your food costs? It may just be food costs for you but to the one who let you borrow it, it’s big money.”
• “Do you think ten million won back then is the same as ten million won today? I think it should be worth about ten times more now…”
• “It may be your one month’s food cost now but before, it was your year’s worth of food costs Dok2. Lol.”

Watch Dok2’s full explanation below: