(Following interview ④) Chef Im Seong-keun of Culinary Class Wars 2 addressed recent controversies that surfaced after his confession of drunk driving and also spoke directly about his tattoos.
Im Seong-keun met with OSEN on the afternoon of the 21st at an office in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul, and spoke about his current situation. He humbly expressed his troubled feelings, saying, "It's all my fault," about the fierce public criticism that followed his recent confession of past drunk driving convictions.
In the recently popular Netflix original variety show Culinary Class Wars: the cooking class war (shortened to Culinary Class Wars 2), Im Seong-keun, who received heated love as a White Spoon, confessed to past drunk driving convictions and instantly became the target of public ire. Even on programs whose filming had finished, his segments were edited out, and invitations from programs that were discussing his appearance were canceled, resulting in a series of cutoffs. All of this was the aftermath of his confession of drunk driving.
According to Im Seong-keun, he has a total of six past convictions for which he received judicial sanctions and punishments, notably four for drunk driving, the most of any offense. Fortunately, there were no victims, so he received criminal penalties such as fines and license revocation for simple drunk driving. One conviction occurred when he rode a motorcycle to deliver food while his license was revoked, and another occurred after an argument in a market escalated to a grab by the collar, ending in mutual assault for which both sides paid a fine of 300,000 won.
However, Im Seong-keun strongly denied allegations that his tattoos meant he was involved with organized crime, such as irezumi or 'gang tattoo' theories, among the past matters being investigated. He said, "Having tattoos doesn't mean you're a gangster. I'm not built like a gangster. When would people who cook be involved in gangster activities? But once the rumors spread, they became uncontrollable."
He went on to explain, "I didn't reveal my tattoos on broadcast, nor did the channel show them outright; they're in a private area that isn't visible, on my forearm under the sleeve and on my shoulder. They're my own symbol, and the design has no meaning. It's just a pattern meant to look tough."
In particular, Im Seong-keun explained, "I became a head cook at 19. It was the same even now, but back then the hierarchy in the kitchen was quite severe. As someone who had to give orders, being young made things difficult. Besides, I got the tattoos in my 20s. After I was married, my wife and I discussed it back and forth, and she agreed I would have them in places that wouldn't be seen. In summer, when you wear short sleeves some skin shows, so after discussing it thoroughly with my wife, I got them to command the kitchen more effectively."
He added, "When one thing is disliked, people tend to dislike everything. But tattoos are not the essence. People who don't know me well might watch the show and misunderstand, but the tattoos are truly unfairly judged," he appealed.
[Photo] Provided by Netflix.
[OSEN]