 |
| Shinsegae Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin is seen smoking a vitamin vaping product at golf courses in pictures he posted on Instagram on Oct. 24 and 25. Screenshot from Chung Yong-jin's Instagram account |
By Kim Jae-heun
Shinsegae Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin is under criticism for uploading a picture of himself blowing out smoke at a golf course on social media on Oct. 24.
Followers of his Instagram account suspected he was smoking even though Chung left the words, "smoking (x)," "wind checking (o)." There is no law against posting a picture of someone smoking on social media here, but local golf courses ban smoking on their premises.
When the picture sparked controversy online, Chung posted another picture of himself smoking an e-cigarette on a golf course and clarified that he was vaping "Vitabon." Vitabon is a Japanese vaping vitamin product that does not contain any of harmful substances including nicotine or tar. He said that he is not a smoker and was only "checking the wind."
But this time, a netizen criticized him for frivolously enjoying himself while the country is suffering from an economic downturn.
"How could he spend time without any concerns when the country is going through hard times economically? I cannot help compare him to Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is busy working to win despite the current hardships," a netizen wrote on Chung's Instagram account.
This incident is not the first time Chung has sparked outrage over his posts on social media. Last November, Chung expressed his hatred of communism online five times. In one instance, he posted a screenshot photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping captured from an article in local conservative news daily Chosun Ilbo, with the hashtag, "#destroycommunism," which worried Shinsegae and Emart shareholders that it would affect the retailer's business. Chung instantly deleted the photo of Xi, switching it to a photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and claiming that the hashtag had "nothing to do with China."
Meanwhile, Chung seems to be trying to gain fame as a kind of influencer. On Oct. 18, he took a screenshot of his bio from Namuwiki, a Korean version of Wikipedia that introduces Chung as a businessman, influencer and owner of local professional baseball club SSG Landers. He wrote, "Please note (my profile) for your reference," on his post.
![[INTERVIEW] Partnerships with Korean companies help Delta Air Lines' post-pandemic recovery](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/892c5f8b83fc45018380807ff3c3d42b.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[VIDEO] Do Koreans know K-pop idols well?](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/230126_koopstreet_web_3be4f49481002.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
