Broadcaster Hyun-young is causing controversy by selling luxury brand promotional gifts for a fee.

Last month, Hyun-young uploaded a promotional video on her social media account, stating, "Dior 25-year Spring Ritual Kit. Shinsegae Department Store and Lotte Department Store in Korea are giving away only the pouch (without the 4 types) to customers who purchase for 170,000 won, and it is currently a sold-out item."

In the released video, Hyun-young promoted a pouch branded with the Dior logo, saying, "This is a product given as amenities to customers who purchase a lot from Dior. You can purchase this separately for 85,000 won."

The pouch in question is a promotional gift provided when purchases exceed 170,000 won at official Dior stores. Hyun-young said, "This is a genuine Dior product. It also has a QR code," and added, "Isn't the pouch just so pretty? I will show you how to turn this into a bag. If you do that, it will look really nice when you just wear jeans and a white T-shirt or shorts during spring and summer travel."

She continued, "When you open it, there are four miniatures inside." The miniatures were also provided as promotional gifts to buyers by Dior, and Hyun-young noted, "You have to purchase 120,000 won for each type, for a total of 480,000 won, just to receive them as gifts," emphasizing that "it's a product equivalent to the promotional gifts received by customers who purchased a total of 650,000 won."

She added, "It's designed to be used as both a pouch and a bag. The material is a kind of satin fabric. The logo is silver. Isn't it pretty?" and she emphasized how the pouch could be transformed into a crossbody bag by attaching a chain, saying, "It's a bag, just a bag. Isn’t it so pretty?"

Some netizens criticized her for this. Questions arose about whether it was illegal to sell products that Dior had provided as promotional gifts at a high premium of 85,000 won, but Hyun-young refuted, saying, "No, it's not."

Such cases of reselling promotional items received for free have been prevalent for a long time. Moreover, when it comes to luxury brands or limited quantities offered, the prices increase even more. However, since there are no legal provisions regulating such resale activities, the practice of 'creative economy'—receiving items for free and selling them at high prices—is spreading day by day.

Particularly, Hyun-young received even more criticism as she is an active broadcaster on entertainment programs. Given the significant influence she has by being known to the public, her leading role in 'reselling' activities could undoubtedly lead to an increase in such circumvention practices.

Meanwhile, reactions followed that Hyun-young's behavior resembled that of comedian Lee Soo-ji’s 'sub-character,' 'Shublimom.' Lee parodies various professions on her YouTube channel 'Hot Issue Ji,' and Shublimom is one of them. The Shublimom concept, portrayed as an influencer selling low-quality products at unreasonable prices, has garnered attention as a representation of influencer group buying.

As a result, seeing Hyun-young selling a promotional pouch made of satin with a chain for a high price of 85,000 won received comments such as, "Reminds me of Lee Soo-ji," "Is this serious? Isn’t it intentional like Lee Soo-ji?", and "It’s exactly the same as the pouch Shublimom brought." One netizen even remarked, "I wish Lee Soo-ji would parody this," tagging Lee Soo-ji’s account.

On the other hand, Hyun-young, who emerged from the SBS Supermodel Contest, has worked in various fields as a broadcaster, singer, and actress. She married a non-celebrity in 2012 and has one son and one daughter, and she is currently running a shopping mall in addition to her broadcasting work. Notably, her shopping mall reportedly recorded sales of around 8 billion won in the second half of 2019, attracting attention.

[Photo] OSEN DB, Hyun-young social media

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