Lotte sorry for sexually offensive joke
/A captured image from Lotte Entertainment's Instagram post that reads, “[EXCLUSIVE] Leaked photos of A wearing tight clothes at a gym.” / Courtesy of Lotte Entertainment
Retail giant blasted for a series of PR blunders
By Park Jae-hyuk
Lotte has apologized for another offensive ad on social media.
The apology came after sharp criticism against Lotte Entertainment for posting a sexually offensive joke about actress Lee Sung-kyung, who starred in the movie “Wrestler,” that the company distributes.
Earlier this week, the film production and distribution business arm of Lotte Group posted a still photograph from the movie on Instagram with a message that reads, “[EXCLUSIVE] Leaked photos of A wearing tight clothes at a gym.”
The actress in a tracksuit lies on her front in a gym smiling in the photo.
Given that the message reminded the public of cyber crimes against celebrities, controversy has erupted over the company's marketing campaign for the movie.
The public has felt more anger, given the joke was made in the midst of the worldwide #MeToo movement.
Amid the growing criticism, Lotte Entertainment rewrote the catchphrase Tuesday with an apology.
The new catchphrase reads, “Mr. Gwibo Yoo Hae-jin's peaceful days become hilarious.”
Lotte Entertainment explained that 'A' refers to actor Yoo Hae-jin, not Lee.
The post included additional still photographs, but the photo of the actress was the cover photo.
“The initial phrase was not intended to remind you of hidden spy cameras for malicious purposes,” the company said. “We just wrote the phrase to describe wrestling clothing as funny.”
It was not the first time this year Lotte Group's affiliates have been under fire for their PR blunders.
Last month, Lotte Foods was hit for an Instagram post parodying the women's curling team's skip, Kim Eun-jeong, to promote the company's Uiseong Garlic Ham made with garlic from the hometown of Kim and her teammates in North Gyeongsang Province.
The food business unit of Lotte Group later took down the parody ad, following accusations it exploited the nation's curling fever and the silver-medal Olympians.
A few days after that controversy, Lotte Foods belatedly announced it signed a sponsorship deal with the Korean national women's curling team members to promote its Uiseong Garlic Ham.
The food firm was also embroiled in controversy in January for an Instagram post parodying Cho Nam-Joo's feminist novel, “Kim Ji-young, born in 1982,” to promote its Daeji Bar crunch ice cream bar.
Lotte Foods took down the parody ad and apologized, saying the company failed to understand the context of the book.