French luxury brand L’Occitane has found itself in hot water after one of its employees reportedly leaked inappropriate and private photos of K-pop star Mingyu from SEVENTEEN. The pictures, taken during a commercial shoot, were allegedly shared on the employee’s personal social media account.
On September 3, South Korean media outlet Herald Pop reported that the employee involved had been suspended. In response, L’Occitane Korea issued an official apology, expressing regret over the incident. The brand admitted full responsibility, saying on its social media accounts, “We sincerely apologize for the recent incident involving the unauthorized release of photos from the L’Occitane Asia Ambassador campaign, which were improperly distributed on the personal social media account of one of our employees. We acknowledge that there is no excuse for this breach and fully accept responsibility for what has occurred.”
The statement continued, “We take this matter with the utmost seriousness, and we deeply regret the distress caused to the artist and all the fans. We extend our deepest apologies to them.” L’Occitane confirmed that the employee had been “completely removed from all duties” and suspended immediately. To prevent future incidents, the brand announced plans to “implement a comprehensive and regular training program for all employees” to emphasize the importance of respecting privacy and rights related to copyrights and portrait rights.
Despite the apology, many fans of SEVENTEEN, known as CARATs, expressed dissatisfaction with the employee merely being suspended. They called for the employee’s termination after reports revealed the photos were shared with captions like, “Mingyu took up most of my photo album… I couldn’t delete them because I was nervous. I guess I should take care of it now.” This incident has sparked outrage among Mingyu’s fans, who demanded stricter action against the employee.
The controversy erupted just a day after L’Occitane launched its first campaign film featuring Mingyu as the Asia Ambassador. The video showed Mingyu ending his day with a refreshing shower, fitting the campaign’s theme of positivity and relaxation.
Fans quickly took to social media to voice their anger, using hashtags like “#ProtectMingyu” to call out the violation of the artist’s privacy. Comments flooded platforms like X (formerly Twitter), with fans saying, “Suspension? The employee needs to be fired,” and “Just because he is a male, it’s not a free pass to post inappropriate photos!”
SEVENTEEN’s Mingyu, known for his talent and charisma, was appointed L’Occitane’s first ambassador in the Asian region in May 2024. The incident has left many fans and supporters concerned about the protection and respect of artists’ privacy in the industry.
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