"Four counts of drunk driving, one count of driving without a license, and one fine for mutual assault are correct. But it is absolutely not power harassment, and the tattoo was just to look tough...". 'Culinary Class Wars 2' chef Im Seong-keun spoke directly about his feelings after various controversies surfaced following his confession of drunk driving. He said he has six prior convictions, but the power harassment allegations are completely untrue, and the tattoo was made in his 20s as a head chef to enforce discipline.
Im Seong-keun met with OSEN at an office in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 21st and talked about his recent condition. He humbly said, "It is all my fault," as he described his mixed feelings over the fierce criticism that followed his recent confession of prior drunk driving convictions.
Im Seong-keun, who gained wide popularity as a White Spoon on the recently released Netflix original variety show Culinary Class Wars: cooking class wars (abbreviated Culinary Class Wars 2), instantly became a target of scorn after confessing to prior drunk driving convictions. Episodes from programs that had finished filming were edited, and offers from programs that were discussing his appearance were canceled, leading to a wave of distancing. All of this was the aftermath of his confession of drunk driving.
Regarding this, Im Seong-keun said, "Including the drunk driving cases, I have exactly six prior convictions." He said, "There were four drunk driving incidents, and one was when I was riding a motorcycle without a license and was caught. The other one was a dispute that escalated to grabbing each other's collars, and we were both fined 300,000 won for mutual assault," he revealed.
However, he denied allegations that he had staged the drunk driving confession before reporting or had downplayed it to three incidents. He said, "I'm not a professional broadcaster, and I was afraid of receiving overwhelming attention through 'Culinary Class Wars 2.' Instagram followers, YouTube channel subscribers — the love became so huge I feared something terrible would happen. It was not purely good; while it was good, I was also afraid. As I appeared on many shows, I couldn't muster courage during daytime shoots and would come home at night and regret it, which made my life miserable. Eventually I couldn't take it and told the production team about it while filming YouTube videos," he said, voice breaking.
Im Seong-keun said, "I had no intention of deliberately deceiving or planning anything. While doing YouTube product placements, ads flooded in and I was terrified enough to think, 'This can't continue.' So on the 12th I shot several YouTube videos and disclosed things together. A YouTube PD happened to be present and recorded. Relying on my imperfect memory, I spoke and mentioned that I had been caught for drunk driving three times starting about 10 years ago. That PD had a regional shoot, so he scheduled the drunk driving confession video to go live on the 18th, but when a reporter contacted me on the 17th, I realized one of my drunk driving incidents occurred around 2015–2016. Because it was about 30 years ago, my memory wasn't accurate. If I had planned to fake it, would I have made such a sloppy video? I want to say I had no such intention," he choked up.
He continued, "Whether it is once or ten times, what difference does it make? It remains my fault and my wrongdoing. I received brief but excessive love, and as a way to repay that time I plan to suspend my broadcasting activities and focus on my main job in the food service industry," he pleaded.
He became widely known through 'Culinary Class Wars 2,' but Im Seong-keun's TV appearances have continued since winning Olive TV's 'Korean Food Battle 3' in 2015. Even excluding one-time guest appearances, weren't there opportunities during multiple show appearances to reveal prior convictions through pre-appearance vetting?
On this, Im Seong-keun said, "I've appeared on survival variety shows three times in total, and all went through participant vetting. When I first started appearing on TV, the atmosphere for vetting participants frankly wasn't like it is now. But cooking uses knives and fire, so it's a dangerous environment where safety accidents can happen. Therefore there was a pretest that checked participants' psychological states through pictures," he began.
Above all, he said, "Until recently, I checked my criminal record in the pre-appearance questionnaire and naturally wrote about my history of drunk driving. I never tried to deceive the production team or cause them harm," he emphasized.
Regarding this, Netflix said, "The production team confirmed one drunk driving record from 2020 during the casting and pre-vetting process, and we were not notified in advance of any additional criminal punishment and could not verify it. The production team deeply regrets the current situation. We apologize to viewers who felt uncomfortable, and we will carefully review and consider ways to more thoroughly examine and supplement procedures related to participants going forward," the company said.
Immediately after his confession of drunk driving, various appearances were edited or canceled, and he experienced what the broadcasting industry calls 'cutting ties.' In response, Im Seong-keun expressed remorse, saying, "I brought this on myself," and added, "I contacted the PD directly. I feel sorry because a good program where many talented chefs should be noticed seems to be marred by controversy because of me. I feel like I ruined a good program," he choked up.
Aside from the convictions, he also suffered from fake news. Regarding allegations such as power harassment, Im Seong-keun insisted, "The power harassment claims are absolutely fake news. I've never scammed or harmed anyone in my life, and I've never had a woman-related scandal. I can vouch for that. It is absolutely not true. It is literally fake news," he emphasized.
Im Seong-keun said, "People are saying I committed power harassment, that I have woman-related issues, and next they'll be saying sexual harassment or rape. I've never experienced such things in my life, so these absurd rumors are truly bewildering. As a person, I've heard advice from those around me about legal action, but for now I think doing that would just be an extension of my wrongdoing," he said.
He added, "Please, I beg you. Don't spread fake news. The fact is that I have drunk driving incidents and prior convictions. I know those alone are unforgivable mistakes. But I hope those baseless rumors don't spread as if they were true. I will accept criticism about the facts. That doesn't make me the absolute evil," he said.
Among the uncovered past matters, he strongly denied suggestions that his tattoos indicated irezumi or 'gangster tattoo' ties. Im Seong-keun said, "Having tattoos doesn't mean someone is a gangster. I'm not that big of a guy. When would cooks be involved in gangster activities? But once the rumors spread, they became uncontrollable," he said.
He explained, "I didn't reveal my tattoos on broadcasts nor openly on my channel; they are on hidden areas, the sleeve and shoulder of my forearm. They are my own symbols and have no particular meaning. They were just designs to look tough," he explained.
In particular, Im Seong-keun said, "I became a head chef at 19. It still is the case, but at that time the kitchen hierarchy was quite strict. As someone who had to give orders, being young made things difficult. Also, I got the tattoo in my 20s. After I was married, I discussed it with my wife and agreed to get it in a place that wouldn't show. In summer, when wearing short sleeves my skin would show a bit, so to lead the kitchen I discussed it enough with my wife and got it," he explained.
He continued, "When one thing is disliked, people assume everything is disliked. But the tattoo is not the essence. People who don't know me well might watch the show and misunderstand, but I feel deeply wronged about the tattoo," he pleaded.
Above all, Im Seong-keun showed tears over the fact that the backlash had been directed at his family. He had shared daily life with his wife and granddaughter on YouTube and personal social media. He choked up, saying, "The sins I committed are my own fault. My wife is absolutely not that kind of person, and what would a young granddaughter know? But indiscriminate malicious comments have flooded my family and I can't raise my head," he said.
Ultimately moved to tears, he said, "Excuse me for a moment," and stepped away. After a few minutes he composed himself and continued the interview. He said, "My wife is someone I met when I was about 23 or 24 and has been with me ever since. Even now, but especially when I was learning the trade, the culinary world had strict hierarchies and a harsh field atmosphere. She, the youngest daughter among eight siblings, didn't know such a harsh atmosphere and endured it by my side," he choked up.
Im Seong-keun said, "Early in our marriage my hometown is Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, and my wife stayed with my mother there while I worked at restaurants in Seoul, barely seeing each other every two weeks. Even when she was six months pregnant it was like that. The person who endured those times is now, because of me, probably hearing things from people around her," he said, unable to continue, adding bitterly, "She must be in a panic even if she doesn't say it all."
He added, "I purposely told my family not to check their phones often. I'm especially sorry to my daughter-in-law. I have a 4-year-old granddaughter; what would such a young child know? What fault does that child have? I just recorded and posted videos of my granddaughter because I loved her, on YouTube and SNS, and I didn't expect that would lead to insults now," he said, tearing up once more.
He said, "Because I received excessive love, my family is receiving the arrows of criticism. I consider it my karmic retribution. I will accept any criticism directed at me. What I did wrong was wrong. But please don't mention my family. People around me suggested defamation lawsuits against those who target my family, but I don't think that would help and I believe this is my karmic retribution, so I decided not to take action. Still, please stop criticizing my family," he said emphatically.
Putting aside the criticism and controversies over his past, Im Seong-keun will suspend his broadcasting activities. However, he plans to fulfill his remaining home shopping schedule. Im Seong-keun explained, "After revealing the drunk driving, I originally planned to stop all home shopping as well. But even if the recorded shows air, they couldn't entirely avoid live appearances. The small company doing home shopping with me mainly sells beef, and they already contracted with livestock farms to sell beef for the holidays. If I don't do this, they say they'll go bankrupt, so there's no choice," he explained.
He added, "Honestly, I want to run away and hide with my family and live quietly and return to my original place and just sell food. But where would I put all the contracted beef? I'll fulfill the remaining schedule and then help find someone to take over future contracts. Otherwise, packaging and sauce suppliers would go bankrupt. This is not my personal money but contracts with companies I've built, so I'll fulfill it until the holidays. After that, I'll return to my original YouTube and restaurant operations," he added.
[Photo] Provided by Netflix and sourced from SNS.
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