Parodying Famous Food Brand to Promote Lee Jae-myung
Ottoogi's Protest Met with Controversial Insult "JolX So Unlucky"
"Content Was Coercive, Got Agitated... Will Be More Careful," Apologizes
Supporters of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, have announced a temporary suspension of activities on the website "Jaemyungine." / Photo by Jaemyungine homepage capture
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The website 'Jaemyungine,' created by supporters of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, has become embroiled in a trademark infringement controversy. The site promoted the candidate by parodying famous food brands, which led the companies to officially protest, fearing damage to their brand images. Amid growing controversy, 'Jaemyungine' has decided to temporarily suspend its activities.
On the 5th, Jaemyungine posted a notice on its homepage stating, "We have reluctantly decided to temporarily suspend operations out of concern that even a slight harm might come to candidate Lee Jae-myung." The 'temporary suspension' mentioned is interpreted as a pause in content creation.
They added, "Since Jaemyungine's super promotional materials mainly consist of parodies, we are conducting various reviews and seeking legal advice," emphasizing, "The Ottogi parody that caused the issue this time is also a free promotional material created by citizens through legal counsel."
They further explained, "We received an email from Ottogi's legal team stating that if the promotional material is not deleted and no response is given, it could be subject to punishment under trademark law and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act," and "Following Ottogi's legal team's request, we immediately deleted the related posts."
The controversial post regarding trademark infringement. The image of candidate Lee was synthesized with the trademark and brand of a specific company. / Photo by Online Community Capture
Jaemyungine reiterated, "We are a voluntary group of general supporters unrelated to the Democratic Party of Korea or candidate Lee," and "We do not want our content to become a seed for division within the democratic camp or distorted reporting rather than promotion."
Jaemyungine is a kind of fan site voluntarily created by supporters of the candidate. They have promoted the candidate by uploading images on their website that synthesize famous food brand logos. For example, they attached the candidate's photo between Ottogi's trademark and jam products, inserting phrases like "Support rate rising like Ottogi," "Warm Human Jam," "Cool Administration Jam," and "Lee Jaemyung Jam."
However, some netizens pointed out that this promotional method could lead to trademark infringement. One netizen even reported the website to Ottogi.
The 'Ottogi' side stated in a message sent to the informant that "the site unauthorizedly altered the Ottogi logo trademark without permission." Jaemyeongine deleted the problematic post but posted a message containing sarcastic phrases, sparking controversy again. / Photo by Online Community Capture
Subsequently, Ottogi's legal team stated, "The reported site is using the Ottogi logo trademark without permission by unauthorized modification," and "Ottogi has no relation to the above acts supporting any specific party or candidate."
They added, "To stop the trademark infringement by unauthorized use of the Ottogi trademark, we plan to contact the site to strongly protest and request the suspension of posting the infringing materials."
In response, Jaemyungine deleted the controversial posts. However, on the homepage, they posted sarcastic phrases such as "Received the threatening mail about parody promotional materials," "It's disgusting, so we won't use it," "S**t, won't buy," and "Damn annoying," reigniting controversy. Critics pointed out that despite unauthorized use of the company's trademark, they responded not with an apology but with a defiant attitude.
As the controversy grew, Jaemyungine posted another notice saying, "We received legal advice that parodies are not problematic, but the company's legal team sent a lengthy email based on incorrect legal information, which was somewhat coercive and made us a bit agitated," and "We have communicated with the legal team, understood each other well, and resolved the matter. We will be more cautious."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
