“Asked about the country of origin, then blocked from chat?”—Controversy over comedian Kim Soo-young’s marinated crab sales livestream

[Financial News] Consumers have claimed they were blocked from chatting during a YouTube livestream after asking about the country of origin of marinated crab promoted by comedian Kim Soo-young. The seller acknowledged that the chat moderator had gone too far, but said there was no intention to misrepresent the product’s origin.
Recently, online communities and social media have seen controversy over the origin labeling and livestream practices of Yeongine Gejang, whose operations Kim Soo-young is involved in.
During a YouTube livestream, Kim Soo-young emphasized that the products use domestically sourced blue crabs. Some viewers, however, claimed they were blocked from chatting after asking about the origin of the seasoning ingredients in the soy sauce-marinated and spicy marinated crab.
According to the ingredient information listed on the sales page, the soy sauce-marinated crab consists of 34% domestically sourced blue crab and 66% sauces. The sauces are imported, and the amino acid liquid is listed as originating from India, the United States, China and other countries.
For the spicy marinated crab, blue crab and sauces each make up 50%. The chili peppers in the seasoning are listed as being from China.
On the 18th, a post protesting the chat restrictions was also published on the inquiry board of the sales page. One consumer demanded, “I was watching the YouTube livestream and wanted to order because it looked delicious. I asked whether the product was from Korea or China, so why did you block me from chatting?” The consumer added, “Is asking a question itself an abusive comment?”
There had also been a viewer’s claim that they were blocked from chatting after asking about the origin of the red pepper powder and other seasoning ingredients.
The seller acknowledged that the moderator had responded excessively while blocking viewers from chat. Heo Su-yang, Kim Soo-young’s wife and CEO of Suyeong Agricultural and Fisheries, told a media outlet by phone, “The person managing the chat did go too far in some respects.”
However, CEO Heo explained that repeated comments of a certain kind could make it difficult to run the livestream, and said there had been no deliberate attempt to prevent consumers from asking questions.
Kim Soo-young also said that the product’s country-of-origin information had not been concealed. “Earlier, someone was stirring things up during a livestream by claiming we used Chinese-made seasoning,” he said. “The product detail page lists all the countries of origin. We didn’t deceive anyone.”
The controversy extended beyond whether domestically sourced blue crabs were used, with claims that viewers who asked about the origin of the seasoning ingredients had their chat access restricted. The seller said the countries of origin are disclosed on the product detail page and acknowledged that some responses during chat moderation had been excessive.


[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter