DAVICHI's Kang Minkyung had lately created a buzz for up-pricing the goods on her clothing brand, Avie Muah, particularly a scrunchie that costs 49 dollars.
This time, she was under fire for allegedly including products she was paid to promote in her YouTube contents, without explicitly saying that they were advertisements. (via Koreaboo)
For social media and advertisements, influencers and celebrities are usually obliged to declare if they were paid or sponsored by a particular product. By using a hashtag or statement, the video must include product sponsorship or advertisement. However, Kang Minkyung reportedly neglected that rule.
According to Dispatch, most of her recent videos where she talked about the products she used in her daily life, were product placement. It was reported that she receives between ₩15000000 ~ ₩20000000 (USD 12,500 ~ USD 16,700) from each brand.
As per Koreaboo, on the 15th of July, Kang Minkyung released a statement on her social media revealing that rather than "pre-determined advertisement agreements," she had accepted offers from the brands themselves that reached out to her after posting the videos.
According to Minkyung, the brands wanted to use her to promote their products. However, the statement has since been deleted.
One netizen asked her why she didn't go back to edit the videos or information tab if she had received the offers. The celebrity explained the videos themselves were not meant to be advertisements or sponsored videos, adding there was no need to clearly state that they were product placements as that was not the original purpose.
Kang Minkyung is not the only celebrity to have faced issues with backlash from product placement issues with their YouTube channels.
Stylist Han Hye Yeon, former Girls' Generation's Jessica, influencer, and socialite Ki Eun Se have all also been found to have accepted sponsored content or ads. In contrast, actresses such as Shin Se Kyung and Han Ye Seul have received praise for turning them down.