Actor Jeong Eun-pyo has expressed displeasure after an influencer used videos and photos of him and his son — who gained attention for gaining admission to Seoul National University — to promote a book without permission.
On Wednesday, Jeong posted on his SNS that a subscriber had tipped him off about the unauthorized use. "A subscriber told me there was an influencer running a group purchase for a book using videos and photos of me and Ji-ung," he wrote. "It's a book both Ji-ung and I like, but using it for advertising without permission is a different matter entirely, so I politely left a comment asking them to take it down."
He added that the influencer initially responded by sending him a direct message containing the promotional copy. "The overall content was positive — saying the book was good and that someone had praised it — but that doesn't make it OK," he said.
Jeong said he was relieved the post came down quickly. "Fortunately, I did receive an apology saying they had taken it down right away, but I blocked that person on my Instagram," he said. "I'm not sure what impact that has on them, but blocking is the strongest action I can take."
The incident began when an influencer used the tagline "Jeong Eun-pyo's son, who did nothing but read books since childhood and ultimately got into Seoul National University" to sell a book of Chinese characters. A netizen who saw the post alerted Jeong.
Jeong thanked the netizen who reported it. "Thanks to your message, I'm told the promotional post has been taken down," he wrote. "It's really upsetting that someone would use another person's photos so casually. Thank you for your support."
Jeong previously appeared with his eldest son Jeong Ji-ung on the SBS variety program "Star Junior Show Bungeo-ppang."
Jeong Ji-ung enrolled at Seoul National University in 2022 and drew public attention after reportedly losing about 30 kilograms during his mandatory military service.
yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com
