As Chef Im Seong-keun, who appears on Netflix's variety show "Culinary Class Wars: Season 2," gains popularity, a controversy over past drunk driving convictions has erupted, and a previously released sponsored video for an alcohol brand has been deleted, stirring backlash.
On the morning of the 19th, the YouTube channel "Imzzang TV" of Chef Im Seong-keun deleted a video titled "This is a Balvenie-sponsored video," which was released on the 13th. The video was a mukbang and drinking content piece filmed with sponsorship from the whisky brand Balvenie.
When the video first premiered, the face of a restaurant employee appeared unblurred, leading to its initial removal and reupload after editing. Upon its re-release, it surpassed 100,000 views and drew attention, but it has now been taken down again.
The deletion appears tied to Chef Im Seong-keun's confession of past drunk driving convictions. On the 18th, through a video titled "Food and drinking," Im disclosed that he had been punished three times for drunk driving. Im said, "I fell asleep in the car after drinking and was caught," and apologized, saying, "It was clearly my fault."
However, public opinion soured quickly as it became known that he had released and run a sponsored alcohol video right up until just before confessing his drunk driving record. Comments under the confession video included, "Is it right to confess drunk driving in front of alcohol?" and "You shouldn't have accepted the whisky sponsorship." In this situation, the sponsored video was deleted without explanation, prompting further disappointment. It is seen that Chef Im Seong-keun's side deleted the video a day later after discussions with the sponsor.
Questions have also been raised about the sincerity of the confession. Ilyo Newspaper claimed that while reporting on Chef Im Seong-keun's past drunk driving record, Im uploaded the confession video preemptively in a so-called "preemptive strike" just before publication.
According to the report, Ilyo Newspaper asked Im's side to confirm facts related to the drunk driving record, and in a call with a reporter on the 17th, Im said, "I will meet you in person on the 20th and explain." However, on the evening of the 18th, a day after the promise, Im abruptly posted the drunk driving confession video.
In particular, discrepancies between Im's explanation and the actual sentencing documents are fueling the controversy. In the video, Im said of the detection, "I had the engine on and was sleeping in the car," but the sentencing documents confirmed by Ilyo Newspaper specify that in the most recent case in 2020, he actually drove the vehicle.
According to the sentencing documents, in the early morning of Jan. 15, 2020, in the Guro-gu area of Seoul, Im was caught in a crackdown after directly driving about 200 meters with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.141%. That far exceeds the license revocation threshold of 0.08%. In July of the same year, the court sentenced Im to one year in prison, suspended for two years, saying, "Im violated the drunk driving ban more than twice and drove a car while intoxicated," and ordered 80 hours of community service and 40 hours of safe driving lectures.
Im had previously been fined for drunk driving in 2009 and 2017. However, whether there was actual driving in those cases was not specified in detail in the sentencing documents. Even so, in the recent case, the fact of vehicle operation was clearly indicated, yet criticism continues that he repeated only the explanation that he "fell asleep in the car" without mentioning it.
Meanwhile, in a handwritten apology released with the confession video, Im said, "I want to confess a grave mistake in the past and sincerely apologize," and added, "I decided it was right to state it in my own words before it became any later." Im and the channel's production staff are currently unreachable.
Chef Im Seong-keun, after winning "Korean Food Battle 3," recently enjoyed a second heyday on the just-ended "Culinary Class Wars 2," appearing as the "White Spoon chef" and earning attention for wit and skill.