Heo Jae, a former national basketball coach and broadcaster who caused a social scandal by drinking several times, started to work as a hangover cure model and was embroiled in controversy.
Recently, a food company selected Heo Jae as an exclusive model for a hangover remedy and launched a product named after Heo Jae.
In the online video advertisement featuring model Heo Jae, subtitles such as 'Soju Heo Jae, Beer Heo Jae, Yangju Heo Jae' and 'Honju Heo Jae at a home party' are included. The appearance of Heo Jae dancing awkwardly was embroiled in controversy because the appearance of recommending alcohol rather than the danger of excessive drinking was emphasized.
A bigger problem is that Heo Jae, who used to be an advertising model for hangover cures, has been involved in several accidents caused by drunk driving, including drunk driving.
Previously, Heo Jae caused a scandal due to drinking ahead of the East Asian Games in April 1993, and in July of the same year, he was caught driving while under the influence of the police. The following year, after drinking and assaulting at a nightclub, he caused an accident while driving while intoxicated in 1995. In 1996, he caused a scandal by drinking alcohol during the Olympics, and in the same year he was driving under the influence of alcohol without a license, causing an accident and then a hit and run. In addition to that, Heo Jae, apart from his outstanding basketball skills, was in danger of being expelled as a player due to various controversies due to drinking.
After that, Heo Jae transformed into a broadcaster and pointed out whether it is the right thing to do to freely recommend drinking with the positive image he got through broadcasting and to make a profit through it.
One netizen pointed out, "How serious a social problem is drunk driving, but isn't it an act of deceiving the public for a drunk driving offender to film such an advertisement?"
(SBS Entertainment News reporter Kang Kyung-yoon)