Chef Ibsung-geun, past remarks reexamined after confession of drunk driving…public opinion divided
Netflix variety Culinary Class Wars brought chef Im Seong-keun broad recognition, and controversies surrounding him continue, with past remarks and actions drawing renewed attention.
Recently, chef Im Seong-keun personally confessed that he had three prior drunk-driving convictions. Afterward, as circumstances emerged suggesting the confession was made public after media inquiries began, some have debated whether it was a "voluntary act of remorse" or a "preemptive response." However, chef Im Seong-keun said "a wrong is a wrong," acknowledged responsibility and expressed his apology.
Against this backdrop, remarks from a YouTube video he released just days earlier are being revisited. On the 16th, a video titled "super simple yukgaejang recipe!" was posted on chef Im Seong-keun's YouTube channel "Im Seong-keun ImjjangTV," and in the video he described his cooking style, saying, "It may look violent but my hands are just fast; my personality is mild."
Chef Im Seong-keun also directly addressed past "school violence allegations" that had been raised online. He explained, "I didn't attend school, so there couldn't have been school violence," adding, "I left home and worked when I was in the third year of middle school, and I left again as soon as I entered high school. I had no time to be at school." That remark did not spark major controversy at the time, but as public sentiment has soured recently it has been brought up again.
Online discussions have also revisited his tattoos and his past conduct more broadly. Some responded that "what was going to burst has burst," while others urged caution, saying "it is necessary to distinguish by case."
Amid the continuing controversy, Im Seong-keun's recent schedule has also drawn varied interpretations. On the morning of the 19th he appeared on a home shopping broadcast to introduce a galbijjim product bearing his name. The broadcast ran for about an hour and was scheduled the day after he disclosed his drunk-driving history. Some viewers questioned whether he should have taken time for reflection, while others countered that "it was already a scheduled engagement."
Earlier reports said Im Seong-keun was caught for drunk driving three times in 2009, 2017 and 2020, and that in the 2020 incident he was stopped while actually driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.141%. He received a one-year prison sentence with a two-year suspended sentence, and was ordered to perform community service and attend a safe-driving lecture.
Im Seong-keun later acknowledged his record on his personal YouTube channel and released a handwritten apology. But interpretations over the number of drunk-driving incidents, the timing of the confession and his subsequent actions have converged to keep public opinion divided.
Some have warned against lumping past allegations together indiscriminately. They say it is necessary to distinguish between the clear fact of drunk driving and matters that have already been explained or require further verification. As the controversy drags on, attention is focused on how Im Seong-keun's future actions and any additional statements will be resolved.<
[Photo] 'Culinary Class Wars 2'
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