On August 22, it was reported that Busker Busker member Kim Hyung Tae was being publicly chastised for his use of some very controversial words on the internet.

On two separate occasions the musician had used words that are commonly associated with the Ilbe online community, a group of extremely harsh and conservative Korean netizens who routinely lash out at public figures with hateful speech and online trolling.

Three days after the news hit the press that Kim Hyung Tae had made remarks that included Ilbe slang terms, he has released an official apology through his Twitter account.

"Sorry for writing late, but I am sincerely sorry if the use of my thoughtless words has caused any inconvenience," he tweeted.

The Busker Busker member followed up by saying, "I know I was not even thinking about how the words I wrote could be so hurtful to someone. I have realized in the wake of this situation that I need to be more careful and will try to be more thoughtful. Once again, I apologize."

The singer's fans have seemed to accept the apology, but the issue has raised concerns among other Korean netizens about a double standard that exists when celebrities exhibit such inappropriate behavior.

Countless times the connection has been made between Kim Hyung Tae and girl group Crayon Pop.

The Crayon Pop members were put through the ringer for their careless use of Ilbe words and despite three tearful public apologies, still suffer from a tarnished reputation in Korea.

However, the Busker Busker singer used equally, if not more, offensive language and his reputation has merely suffered minor bruises in comparison.

We will just have to wait and see what sort of long-term affects the Ilbe controversy has on Kim Hyung Tae's reputation, but it does beg the question if other biases are at play here.