On the 5th, the tvN entertainment program You Quiz on the Block featured the famous automotive YouTuber couple, Kakul and Peter. Photo by tvN, screenshot from You Quiz on the Block.
[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Min Jun-young] The couple, Car Girl and Peter, who are automotive YouTubers with 300,000 subscribers, turned all their videos to private after apologizing due to various suspicions surrounding them following their appearance on a show.
On the 12th, they posted an apology video on Car Girl's YouTube channel stating, "We sincerely apologize for not responding quickly to the ongoing controversy."
They said, "While running the channel, in our desire to increase views and grow quickly, we used provocative language that led you to imagine things and did not correct sensitive parts. This is entirely our fault, and we deeply reflect on it," apologizing.
They continued, "Although the cars were test vehicles, we did not clearly mention this when creating content. Especially, we should have disclosed that the cars appearing in the videos were not our property, but under the pretext of maintaining the channel's concept, we focused only on showing cool locations, cool cars, and a cool lifestyle."
They added, "In this process, we did not seriously consider the reactions of subscribers who thought we were chaebols and regarded this as attention, failing to correct it in time and tacitly allowing it. We deeply reflect on this. We should have only provided positive influence, and we are sorry to show such an embarrassing side."
Furthermore, the couple addressed nine suspicions surrounding them, including ▲Tesla early investor theory ▲Jeju Beer equity investment ▲'Top Gear Korea' related lying allegations ▲Richmond Duke party in the UK ▲Maurizio Colbi artwork sales suspension ▲villa ▲McLaren only daughter ▲Ferrari car design concert ▲car salesperson.
Previously, on the 5th, they appeared on the tvN variety show 'You Quiz on the Block' and explained that the "Tesla 1% stake ownership theory" was exaggerated but described themselves as "early investors."
On the broadcast, Peter said, "In the early days of Tesla's founding, I lived next door to Elon Musk hyung (older brother) and, as a university student, invested about the amount of my tuition fees," adding, "The 1% purchase is a misunderstanding spread on the internet."
Regarding this, the couple explained the Tesla early investor controversy by saying, "We also explained that we lived next door when Tesla was a small company," and addressed suspicions about how Peter, who graduated from a university on the East Coast of the U.S., lived near Tesla's headquarters on the West Coast. At that time, Tesla's headquarters was located in San Carlos, California. During university vacations, he stayed in San Carlos and did an internship," they clarified.
They also gifted Ferrari designer Maurizio Colbi's paintings to Yoo Jae-suk and Jo Se-ho in unaired footage.
Later, when they released that scene on YouTube, they said, "The painting gifted to Yoo Jae-suk is coming to Korea. Only 499 pieces will be sold, so take the opportunity to own one," which led to criticism that they used Yoo Jae-suk for promotion.
In response, the couple explained, "This project was a collaboration between Mr. Maurizio Colbi, the Car Girl channel, and Print Bakery. Therefore, we could not unilaterally decide the sales price," adding, "We did not receive any money from anywhere for producing the video. However, given the current controversy surrounding our channel, we judged that continuing this project was inappropriate. Therefore, we took down the video introducing the artwork."
Despite their explanation, netizens criticized them, saying, "They blatantly staged a scam on the broadcast," and "They responded to envious comments and deceived people as if it were true."
Ultimately, as the criticism from netizens did not subside, the couple changed all videos on their YouTube channel to private.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
