'Through the Netflix variety show Culinary Class Wars: Culinary Class Wars 2, Chef Im Seong-keun, who gained popular fame, has been beset by a series of controversies, prompting renewed scrutiny of his past remarks and actions.
Recently, Chef Im Seong-keun faced fierce public criticism after it became known that he confessed to three prior drunk-driving offenses. In this context, on the 16th a video titled 'super simple yukgaejang recipe!' was posted on Chef Im Seong-keun's YouTube channel "Im Seong-keun Imjjang TV." In the video, while cooking, Chef Im said, "People say Imjjang's cooking is violent, but I am a gentle person. It's because my hands are fast," beginning his remarks.
He went on, "Someone said, 'Isn't it that you were involved in school violence because your personality is wild?'" and directly mentioned the past "school violence allegations." Regarding this, Chef Im Seong-keun said, "Sorry, but I did not attend school, so there was no school violence," and explained, "I left home and worked in the third year of middle school, and after being caught and entering high school, I left again as soon as I enrolled. I had no time to be at school." He added, "So you don't need to worry."
The remark did not become a major controversy at the time, but it resurfaced as public sentiment worsened after the confession of drunk-driving convictions. Some reacted, "Although he denied the school violence allegations themselves, questions about his overall past actions remain."
Earlier on the 19th, a media outlet reported that Chef Im Seong-keun was caught for drunk driving three times in 2009, 2017 and 2020, and that in the 2020 incident he was caught while actually driving and was severely intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of 0.141%. It reported that for that incident Chef Im received a one-year prison sentence with a two-year suspended term, 80 hours of community service and an order to attend 40 hours of safe driving lectures.
The outlet also said it requested fact-checking from Chef Im Seong-keun's side, and the next day Chef Im posted a video on his personal YouTube channel confessing to prior drunk-driving offenses. In the video, Chef Im Seong-keun said, "I drove under the influence about three times over 10 years," adding, "Wrong is wrong. I don't want to evade responsibility," and he also released a handwritten apology.
But public sentiment does not seem to be calming easily. Criticism centers not only on the record of three drunk-driving incidents itself, but also on doubts over the timing and sincerity of the confession. With the explanation about the school violence allegations also brought back into the spotlight, Chef Im Seong-keun's overall past is being 'exhuma' in a chainlike pattern.
[photo]'SNS'
[OSEN]