Song Joong Ki Personally Apologizes For The Previous PPL Controversy In "Vincenzo"

Vincenzo actor Song Joong Ki has officially addressed the drama’s Chinese Product Placement (PPL) controversy.

Recently, Song Joong Ki concluded the tvN series and has been discussing the finale of Vincenzo on numerous interviews. As the actor makes headlines for his good looks and superb acting skills, one particular topic has been receiving extra attention.

During one of his interviews, Song Joong Ki was asked about the drama’s PPL controversy that they experienced early on in the series. Instead of being flabbergasted by the question, the actor responded “it would’ve been sad if this question wasn’t presented.” He continued his response by stating,

It’s not just the main actors who pay close attention to the product placement…I thought that it could be a good thing for actors to be present to discuss such topics.

— Song Joong Ki

Song Joong Ki didn’t end his response there as he continued on by explaining the entire situation and what the cast of Vincenzo did to move on from the controversy.

It is true that there was a PPL controversy in the middle of our drama production. The controversy was an outwardly issue with the drama so we worked even harder to ensure that the drama would be perfect from within.

— Song Joong Ki

The actor addressed the controversy head on by personally apologizing for the problem as the main actor of the series.

I believe that there were many people who were disappointed because of the PPL controversy. With that said, I feel that it is only right for me as the lead actor to apologize.

— Song Joong Ki

Netizens were thoroughly impressed with Song Joong Ki’s blunt response to a potentially awkward interview question. They praised the actor for his straight forward answer.

“He is so straight forward.”
“Everything he said is so true.”
“Wow haha he’s so smart and confident hahaha I wonder if he was given a script hahaha”
“He’s such a f**king cool guy haha who knew.”
“He’s famous for his cool and collected words haha no turning back.”
“Song Joong Ki’s personality is refreshing haha he’s so good with his words.”

Previously, Vincenzo was under massive scrutiny for featuring a Chinese PPL product in one of their episodes. The PPL featured was a to-go bibimbap, which is a Korean cuisine. The issue began when netizens realized the Korean cuisine was packaged with a Chinese brand logo and Chinese lettering. This caused an outrage amongst Korean viewers, who became highly sensitive to China and their influence in Korean media.

Song Joong Ki with the Chinese PPL | *tvN*

The drama’s PPL controversy was ignited in the midst of high tensioned relations between China and South Korea. China had previously made several claims on numerous different Korean cultures, such as kimchi, taekwondo, the flag, hanbok and more. This created quite a conflict between the two nations and the Korean public became increasingly more sensitive to Chinese PPL.

While Vincenzo may have suffered from the controversy in its early stages, the series went on to see one of the highest viewerships in South Korean drama history. It became one of tvN’s highest ranking dramas to boot, breaking records after each episode release.