Popular Brand Under Fire After Employee Leaks Inappropriate Photos Of SEVENTEEN’s Mingyu
Recently, the French luxury brand L’Occitane posted an official apology regarding the unacceptable actions of an employee.
Previously, a staff member posted photos they took of SEVENTEEN’s Mingyu during his commercial shoot on their personal account. They posted a bunch of photos, even ones with more exposure. (Fans added the gray blocks to protect Mingyu’s privacy.)
Mingyu, who took up most of my photo album…I couldn’t erase it because I was nervous, but I guess I should start organizing them now…
Fans were appalled at the employee’s behavior and for invading his privacy.
ohmygod apologies for posting without full context. so it turns out it was a staff's personal phone not the company who filmed and saved mg's videos?!?!?!?!? truly unacceptable and weird. i hope these brands make filming sets safe for mg bc he deserves it as an artist and…
— shanie🍥 ggyu! (@minwonshu) September 2, 2024
u know what’s really sick about this is he’s genuinely nice and respectful to everyone he works with but some of y’all just take advantage of him so easily https://t.co/Ai61vkcwXd
— jeonghan’s arm mole (@ggyusclues) September 2, 2024
it's always mingyu oh my God I'm so tired can't people treat him like a human being https://t.co/xsZdA3sIrI
— sera • lollateen in berlin 🔜 (@serayoo_n) September 2, 2024
Fans also began to trend hashtags demanding protection for Mingyu.
ISTG YOU BETTER PROTECT OUR MINGYU!! 😡 @LOCCITANE_KOREA @pledis_17 @pledis17_STAFF #protectmingyu https://t.co/XH3csKthT3
— rize (@moonlightbei) September 2, 2024
Mingyu, i feel so sorry and bad. Mingyu do not deserve this, they need to address this asap, i better hear news soon regarding this very serious matter. @pledis17_STAFF @pledis_17#ProtectMingyu
— ucipaa𐙚 (@arcipayaa) September 2, 2024
Most recently, L’Occitane released an official notice regarding the matter. Below is the official English statement released on their account.
“This is L’Occitane Korea.
We sincerely apologize for the recent incident involving the unauthorized release of photos from the L’Occitane Asia Ambassador campaign, which were improperly distributed on the personal social media account of one of our employees. We acknowledge that there is no excuse for this breach and fully accept responsibility for what has occurred.We take this matter with the utmost seriousness, and we deeply regret the distress caused to the artist and all the fans. We extend our deepest apologies to them.
The employee involved has been completely removed from all duties, and immediate disciplinary action (Suspension) has been enforced.To prevent such incidents in the future, we will implement a comprehensive and regular training program for all employees. This program will emphasize the critical importance of respecting the copyrights, portrait rights, publicity rights, and privacy of our brand ambassador.
We will ensure that every employee thoroughly understands and adheres to these principles, and we will approach this process with a strong sense of responsibility.
We deeply regret the occurrence and accept full responsibility. Once again, we sincerely apologize to the artist and all the fans.”
Korean netizens couldn’t understand why the employee would have these photos saved in their phone in the first place.
- “Regardless of whether or not his shirt was off and wrapped in a puffer jacket, there’s something called portrait copyrights…the employee has no right to leak photos like this.”
- “Why are they displaying this on their social media for everyone to see…isn’t this sexual harassment to Mingyu?”
- “I hope this knocks some sense into those crazy reporters.”
- “Crazy…leaking it is crazy, but having these saved on their phone until now? They’re not even the director?”
- “Some people were like, what’s wrong with this? But after telling them to think about this happening to a female idol, they shut their mouths.”
- “What are they doing seriously…”
- “PLEDIS is really strict on SEVENTEEN’s advertisements….the employee won’t get off with just being fired…they’re going to have to take responsibility for not training their employees well.”
- “Please think before doing something…”
- “At least they apologized quickly without any excuses…”
What are your thoughts on this?