Comedian Kim Soo-young has denied allegations that he misled viewers about ingredient origins during a live broadcast selling marinated crab, telling reporters on October 19: “The origin information is all on the product detail page. There was no deception.”
According to MyDaily, Kim promotes the “Yeongine Gejang” brand — soy-marinated and spicy-marinated raw crab — through live commerce on his YouTube channel, where a recent broadcast drew over 1.21 million views. During an October 18 livestream, Kim emphasized that the flower crabs used are 100 percent Korean, caught off Yeonpyeong Island, but did not specify the origins of the sauces and seasonings.
The controversy erupted when viewers claimed in online communities and on the store’s inquiry board that asking about seasoning and chili powder origins in the live chat got them blocked. One buyer wrote on October 18: “I just wanted to ask whether the ingredients are domestic or Chinese — why block the chat? Is asking itself a malicious comment?” Product details show the soy-marinated crab is 34 percent flower crab (Korean) and 66 percent sauce (imported, with amino acid liquid sourced from India, the United States, and China), while the spicy-marinated version is half crab, half sauce, with the chili pepper listed as Chinese.
The seller acknowledged that chat managers had “overreacted” in moderating the broadcast. Kim’s wife and Suyoung Fisheries CEO Heo Su-yang told reporters by phone that the chat manager “over-responded somewhat,” but said repeated remarks such as “anything Chinese must be distrusted” after an earlier broadcast had made the live show nearly impossible to run.
Kim added that provocateurs had been “agitating” about Chinese seasoning in earlier broadcasts, and asked the public to “hear our side before judging only one side.” The seller said the detail page lists every ingredient’s origin and that criticism is welcome where wrongdoing occurred.
Kim debuted in 2011 as part of KBS’s 26th class of comedians, rising to fame as the son in the “Gag Concert” segment “Father and Son.” He married Heo in 2022.
