Singer Seo In-young is facing a wave of online criticism after asking the production team of her own YouTube channel to secure home appliance sponsorships for her newlywed home, just one day after she announced her December 26 remarriage.
The remark came in a video posted on November 4 to her channel, “Gaegwacheonseon Seo In-young,” in which she made kimchi with her family and surprised viewers by revealing her wedding date. While discussing the newlywed home, Seo said she had bought the apartment unit directly above the one where she currently lives in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. She then turned to the producer and said, “Get some appliance sponsorships. I don’t have any money. I spent it all buying the house.” The producer looked flustered and replied, “Oh, why are you doing that?”
The clip quickly drew a backlash online. Netizens left pointed comments, with some writing, “Shamelessness masquerading as honesty,” and, “What makes a celebrity so special that she can ask the producer of her own show to get her sponsorship? I don’t get it, even if it’s a joke.” Others argued that she already has everything she needs at home and could simply use what she owns.
The episode is the latest in a run of controversies over celebrities publicly pleading poverty. Broadcaster Do Kyung-wan drew similar criticism after saying on the October 22 episode of KBS2’s “Shin Sang-chulsi Pyeonstorang” that his bank balance stood at just 254,795 won and that he was worried about management fees. The remarks rang hollow for many viewers once it emerged that the home shown on the program was a penthouse in Seoul’s Yongsan district reportedly purchased for around 12 billion won. Critics labeled the display “poverty cosplay,” and a complaint requesting a review was filed with the Korea Communications Standards Commission on October 29.
Seo’s wedding announcement itself had been warmly received. In the same November 4 video, she revealed she will remarry on December 26 in a small church ceremony, deliberately stripping the event back from her first wedding. “I cut the wedding song and won’t do anything else. I cut the flower decorations, too. I cut out all the bad memories,” she said. Her first wedding featured floral decorations reportedly worth 100 million won, including 3,000 bunches of flowers, which were later revealed to have been sponsored.
Seo married a non-celebrity businessman in February 2023 and divorced by mutual agreement about a year later. She announced plans to remarry in June this year. Her fiance is Choi Ji-hoon, the CEO of content company NP, who is six years her senior. Fellow Jewelry members are expected to attend the ceremony, with some traveling from Japan.
With the wedding just over seven weeks away, the sponsorship remark has shifted attention from the announcement itself to the tone of her preparations. Whether Seo addresses the criticism in a future video remains to be seen, but the episode has already become a flashpoint in the wider debate over how celebrities talk about money on camera.
