BTS member accused of breaching advertising law

Jungkook poses in this selfie wearing a sweatshirt made by his elder brother Jeong Jung-hyeon. The picture was posted on Twitter on Sept. 10. Screencaptured from the BTS Twitter account

By Kim Jae-heun

K-pop star Jungkook of BTS is embroiled in a controversy over his possible violation of the labeling and advertising act. However, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said there is no concrete grounds to prove that the singer had intention to breach the law and it will not conduct an investigation.

Jungkook tweeted a photo recently of himself in a car wearing a purple sweatshirt, which turned out to be from the fashion label Graffitionmind, owned by his elder brother, Jeon Jung-hyun. Jungkook also appeared in an internet broadcast wearing the sweatshirt.

According to the local labeling and advertising act, celebrities have to state clearly in a social media post if they are promoting a certain item or brand intentionally. One of the citizens here accused Jungkook in a civil complaint filed with the FTC through e-people, an online portal site operated by the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission.

"It is difficult to determine whether the celebrity had posted the picture of a certain brand on social media voluntarily or at the request of a client. We cannot launch an investigation without clear proof that the post is illegal as it could result in negative effects," an FTC official said.

The FTC added that Jungkook neither revealed the brand name of the sweatshirt he was wearing nor exposed the brand label in the picture, so he had no intention to violate the law.

Graffitionmind is a brand introduced by the clothing firm Six Guys that was founded by Jeon in May. Jungkook was originally registered as an executive director of Six Guys but he had stepped down from the position recently.

Jungkook has previously been accused of advertising a tea brand on a television show, but the FTC did not pursue an investigation then either.

His agency Hybe did not comment on the issue.

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