Balvenie takes hit as 'Culinary Class Wars' chef Im Seong-keun admits to multiple DUIs
Denby, KT Alpha Shopping also have collaborations with outspoken chef
Im Seong-keun, a chef from Netflix’s “Culinary Class Wars” Season 2, promotes Balvenie Scotch whisky in a now-deleted advertisement on his YouTube channel. Captured from Im's YouTube channel
Single malt Scotch whisky brand Balvenie has drawn unwanted public attention due to its recent advertisement on the YouTube channel of Im Seong-keun, a chef from Netflix’s “Culinary Class Wars” Season 2, who admitted Sunday to three DUIs over the past decade.
Known for his humor, outspoken remarks and quick cooking skills, Im made the admission in a video and a written apology uploaded to his channel.
However, a bottle of soju also appeared in the video.
Fans were especially angered by the fact that Im had been drinking whisky when filming a Balvenie-sponsored video, which was uploaded just five days before his confession.
The chef lost more than 20,000 subscribers within 19 hours after the revelation and subsequently deleted the Balvenie-sponsored video. He had been on the verge of reaching 1 million subscribers thanks to his recent surge in popularity.
William Grant & Sons Korea, which sells Balvenie's whiskies in the Korean market, declined to comment.
As of Monday morning, a video sponsored by British tableware brand Denby remained on his channel. Denby promoted its products by showcasing Im’s Korean dishes served on its Kiln collection, a popular stoneware line.
KT Alpha Shopping, a home shopping channel operated by a subsidiary of telecom firm KT, also collaborated with Im to sell precooked Korean-style soups based on his recipes. Im previously won Season 3 of another cooking competition, “Korean Food War.”
A KT Alpha Shopping spokesperson said the company is monitoring the situation but has not decided whether to end its collaboration with him.