Was Netflix Caught In A Lie? Comment About Not Knowing Of “Culinary Class Wars 2” Chef Past DUI Gets Challenged
Netflix has issued a statement regarding reports that it “already knew” about chef Lim Seong Geun’s past DUI incidents “Culinary Class Wars 2.”
On the morning of the 21st of January, Netflix held the “Next on Netflix 2026 Korea” event at a hotel in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, addressing the direction of its content. During the event, You Ki Hwan, Netflix’s variety director, commented on the vetting of non-celebrity participants: “This is something we think about a lot and is a difficult issue. Viewers want raw reality, and we produce and recruit participants accordingly. From a production standpoint, it’s limited what we can fully investigate about someone’s history or criminal record.”
He added, “During Culinary Class Wars 2 and other projects, we’ve complied with all legal standards. Still, there are issues we cannot uncover, and we’re thinking about how to improve that. Please understand that our verification process is already at a level higher than standard broadcasting.” This statement effectively suggested that Netflix was not aware of Lim’s full DUI history.
However, later that afternoon, Lim Seong Geun told Sports Chosun that most non-celebrity survival shows require participants to fill out surveys, including questions about criminal records. He stated, “I couldn’t list everything, but I disclosed the most recent one—my DUI in 2020.” This led to public speculation that Netflix may have misrepresented its knowledge of the situation.
Netflix responded to Sports Chosun on the same day: “During casting and pre-production verification, the team confirmed Lim Seong Geun’s DUI in 2020. We were not notified of, nor able to confirm, any additional criminal records. The production team deeply regrets the situation. We apologize to viewers who were inconvenienced and will carefully review and strengthen participant verification procedures moving forward.”
Lim gained popularity on Culinary Class Wars 2 as a “white spoon chef,” impressing viewers with his ultra-fast cooking skills. Despite this, on the 18th, Lim admitted on his YouTube channel that he had been caught for DUI three times over the past decade, and a fourth case has since come to light.
Source: (A)
