Was He Too Hasty to Cut Ties? Lotteria Pasted Paper on Lee Geun's Face

Lee Geun, on 13th YouTube video: "Never falsified career or academic background"
Regarding sexual harassment allegations: "Punished in 2018 but I am innocent"

A promotional material from a Lotteria store. The text is placed over Captain Lee Geun's face to cover it. / Photo by Internet Community Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Lee Geun (36), a former captain who gained popularity by appearing on the YouTube show 'Fake Men,' is embroiled in controversy over debt issues and a history of sexual harassment trials. In response, Lotteria, which had employed Lee as an advertising model, is deleting or making related posts private.

On the 13th, an internet community post titled "Lotteria Quickly Cuts Ties with Lee Geun" was uploaded. The post included a photo of a Lotteria product advertisement featuring Lee, with the phrase "Due to a shortage of burger packaging containers, in-store use only is available. We ask for your understanding" covering Lee's face.

Lotteria is reportedly removing advertisements related to Lee. According to 'Sports Kyunghyang' on the same day, Lotteria stated, "We are organizing promotional content related to Lee Geun considering the brand image."

Accordingly, Lotteria has made the 'Military Burger' YouTube content series featuring Lee private. Promotional materials produced featuring Lee on official social network services (SNS) are also being deleted or modified.

Meanwhile, Lee is currently embroiled in various controversies, including debt disputes, fake career allegations, and sexual harassment accusations.

Earlier, netizen A claimed on Instagram on the 2nd that "Captain Lee Geun borrowed 2 million won in 2014 and failed to repay it by the promised date, making excuses." This sparked the debt controversy. A also shared a photo of a civil lawsuit judgment document from 2016 related to Lee's non-payment.

However, Lee explained, "Although I borrowed less than 2 million won, I repaid it with 1 to 1.5 million won in cash, skydiving equipment, and training."

On the 5th, A posted that "There was confusion due to multiple financial transactions," adding, "The debt relationship has been cleanly resolved, and emotional issues have been settled," bringing the debt controversy to a close for the time being.

Captain Lee Geun. / Photo by YouTube Capture

However, other controversies followed.

On the 11th, Kim Yongho, a former entertainment reporter turned YouTuber who runs the channel 'Kim Yongho Entertainment Chief,' claimed that Lee's UN work experience was fabricated, sparking a fake career controversy.

Additionally, on the next day (12th), Kim claimed that Lee was a "sex offender" and partially revealed documents presumed to be records of a sexual harassment case dismissed by the Supreme Court.

In response, Lee posted a clarification video on his YouTube channel on the 13th.

In the video, Lee refuted the fake career allegations, stating, "All claims regarding my career and education, including the UN, are false. They are evidence of my hard work and pride. I have never once embellished them with lies."

Regarding the suspicion of receiving a fine for sexual harassment, he admitted, "In 2018, I was punished for a harassment incident at a public place, a club."

However, he argued, "One witness mentioned in the judgment was the woman's boyfriend and did not directly witness the harassment. Also, there were three CCTV cameras at the time, which provided evidence that I did not commit the harassment, yet the victim's consistent testimony became the sole evidence for the ruling."

He continued, "I had no choice but to accept the judgment, but I feel deeply wronged in my conscience."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.