'Chef Lim Seong-geun, who appeared on the Netflix variety show Culinary Class Wars: Culinary Class Wars season 2, spoke directly about his feelings after confessing to past drunk driving convictions and the resulting controversies. He said he would stop broadcast activities and focus on his primary work in the restaurant business.'
Lim Seong-geun met with OSEN on the 21st in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, and bowed his head, saying, "It's all my fault." He drew attention as a White Spoon chef on Culinary Class Wars 2, and after revealing his past drunk driving convictions he faced fierce criticism, experienced edits to his airtime on programs he appeared on, and had pending broadcast offers canceled, among other aftershocks.
He said, "Exactly, the convictions are six," and explained in detail, "Four for drunk driving, one for driving a motorcycle without a license, and one for a fine for mutual assault after an altercation." However, he drew a line regarding recently raised abuse-of-power allegations, saying, "That is not true at all," and regarding a previously talked-about tattoo he explained, "In my early 20s when I was a head cook, it was an action meant to look tough to enforce discipline."
He denied allegations that he had downplayed or played down his drunk driving history. Lim Seong-geun said, "I'm not a professional broadcaster, and the sudden attention was terrifying," and confessed, "After Culinary Class Wars 2, my social media followers and YouTube subscribers surged, and burden and fear came all at once." He added, "During the day I was filming and couldn't speak, and nights of repeated regret left my life devastated."
He also explained the background to why he brought up the issue first during YouTube filming. "PPL and advertising offers flooded in, and I felt this couldn't continue," he said, adding, "There was no intent to hide or manipulate things strategically." However, he explained, "Because it was long ago I relied on imperfect memory and said, 'three drunk driving incidents from 10 years ago,' but additional reporting later confirmed older incidents," and said, "I did not intentionally downplay them."
Lim Seong-geun said, "Whether it's once or 10 times, the number isn't what's important; it doesn't change the fact that I am the one who committed the wrong," and said, "Although it was a short time, I received excessive love. Now I want to stop broadcasting and concentrate on the restaurant business to repay that."
Meanwhile, he also addressed verification issues during past broadcast appearances. "I appeared on survival variety shows three times and all underwent prior vetting," he said, adding, "Until recently, if the contestant questionnaire had a 'criminal record' item, I filled in my drunk driving history as it was. I never tried to deceive or harm the production staff."
After the controversy, Lim Seong-geun, who organized his position for the first time, chose to stop broadcast activities but made clear that he intends to continue his life as a chef. Public opinion remains divided over his future course.
[photo]"SNS"
[OSEN]