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Min-Kyu, a member of the Korean group SEVENTEEN, recently found himself at the center of a controversy involving L’Occitane Korea. The incident began when an employee of L’Occitane Korea unauthorizedly leaked unofficial photos of Min-Kyu.
The photos were related to L’Occitane’s Asia Ambassador campaign, and the employee posted them on his personal social media account, sparking a major controversy.
In May, Min-gyu was selected as L’Occitane Korea’s brand ambassador across Asia and participated in several commercial shoots.
During this process, a number of photos were leaked that appeared to have been taken by a L’Occitane Korea employee for personal purposes.
The employee posted dozens of images on his Instagram story, claiming they were photos he had taken over the course of the campaign, some of which showed Min-Kyu removing his top and other parts of his body.
As soon as the incident came to light, the online community and social media outlets criticized the employee and L’Occitane Korea.
People expressed outrage, saying things like, “Why would you post someone’s naked body?” and “I can’t believe they didn’t stop the camera while taking these photos.”
The circumstances under which the photos were taken, and the moral and legal implications of the employee posting them without the company’s permission, further fueled the debate.
Some commenters strongly criticized the employee’s actions, likening the incident to a “mugshot crime.
They pointed out that the employee did more than just leak the photos, and that the company’s lack of oversight was also a big problem.
As the incident escalated, L’Occitane Korea recognized the seriousness of the situation and issued an official apology. L’Occitane Korea stated on its official social media accounts that there is no excuse for this incident and that it accepts full responsibility.
They immediately removed the employee from all duties and placed him on standby, emphasizing that they take this matter very seriously.
However, despite L’Occitane Korea’s apology, the criticism from social media users did not go away easily.
Many questioned the company’s response, asking questions like, “Is this the end of the story?” and “Did they make sure all the photos on the employees’ phones were deleted?” and demanding further action.
Commenters pointed out that L’Occitane Korea’s apology was simply an attempt to deflect the issue and offered no real solution.
They criticized the company’s promise to introduce regular training programs to educate employees on the importance of copyright, likeness, publicity, and privacy rights, but the lack of immediate response to the problem that had already occurred.
The incident did not end with a single employee’s personal mistake, but rather escalated into a company-wide issue of mismanagement and human rights violations, and caused a major blow to L’Occitane Korea’s brand image.
The controversy has highlighted the need for L’Occitane Korea to establish a thorough management system and strengthen employee training to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
The incident also serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting public figures’ right of publicity and privacy. Issues related to a public figure’s image can have a huge social impact, and the responsibility of companies to manage them is enormous.
This incident highlights the need for a discussion about how to balance acting in the public interest with respecting the privacy of individuals.
It’s not just an issue for the entertainment industry, but it’s an important issue in everyone’s daily lives.
