"I should have been more serious"— South Korean police officer issues apology for barking at IShowSpeed during patrol

On Tuesday, May 14, the South Korean police officer who went viral for having a "bark-off" with the American broadcaster, IShowSpeed, issued an apology letter by commenting on the YouTube channel, @kmk072. On May 13, a video of a South Korean police officer in his patrol car and IShowSpeed in another car barking at each other from their respective vehicles went viral on the internet.

In less than a day, the video garnered around 303K views on X. However, when netizens came across the video they were rather disappointed with the police officer's actions. They stated that as an official on duty, he should be more respectful of the job and his responsibilities. The amount of criticism towards the police officer continued to increase.

Therefore, he apologized for the same. One of the many social media accounts that reposted the video was @kmk072, and a comment by @lookswonder under the post claimed that they were the police officer in the video and apologized for their behavior.

"As a police officer wearing a uniform, I believe I should have been more serious and trustworthy for the public."

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South Korean police officer apologizes for the viral video of him and IShowSpeed having a "bark off"

IShowSpeed is an American YouTuber and rapper who's known for his viral livestreams. Recently, he has been to several countries, filming his experience interacting with the people there. One of the traditions he maintained throughout his tour across several countries was barking at random people and seeing how they would respond to the same.

While some get startled or don't respond, others who are aware of IShowSpeed and his tradition would bark back at him. Therefore, when the YouTuber came to South Korea, he released a vlog of him going around in his car. At a red light stopping, he spotted a police officer in his patrol car. When he called him to "bark off", the police officer immediately began to bark back at him.

Not only did the video reach the internet from IShowSpeed's vlog, but the police personnel also released the video he took from his point of view on the internet. The video and incident garnered attention quickly, but it was mostly to point out the allegedly disrespectful behavior of the South Korean police officer who was on duty on a patrol.

Therefore, the police officer responded to the issue by commenting on @kmk072's YouTube video, which was a repost of the above-mentioned clips. Here's what the comment read:

"As I am a fan of his (IShowSpeed), I took a selfie using my phone and expressed excitement by making barking sounds at him... According to traffic laws, using a mobile phone while driving is prohibited, but there are exceptions when the vehicle is stopped at a traffic light."

After explaining how he didn't violate traffic laws, he continued to apologize for the moral and ethical mistakes he committed.

"Also, this streamer is well-known for his barking, so I expressed my excitement as a fan by making the sound. It was not directed at any other passing civilians. I am not saying that I did the right thing... So, to those watching the video, please keep the criticism toward me and not toward the police force as a whole."

He ended his apology by asking netizens to be more considerate of his situation. Though he understood the weight of his role, he requested people to take the incident as "a police officer being funny". However, he also expressed that he will reflect on his actions hereafter.

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While there was quite a lot of controversy around the issue on the internet, netizens have been considerably settled following the apology letter from the South Korean police officer.