'Black and White Chef' Lim Seonggeun, Who Claimed "Three DUIs," Actually Caught Four Times

Court Records Reveal First Drunk Driving Incident in 1999
YouTube Confession Video on Drunk Driving Now Deleted

Lim Seonggeun, a Korean cuisine chef who gained popularity after appearing on the Netflix variety show 'Black and White Chef Season 2,' has been confirmed to have been caught drunk driving on four separate occasions in the past. While Lim recently stated on YouTube that he had driven under the influence about three times over a span of 10 years, actual court records show more instances, and the explanation video has since been deleted.

Chef Seonggeun Lim, known as 'Heukbaek Yorisah 2,' who confessed to past drunk driving on his YouTube channel. YouTube Imjjang TV

According to court rulings and other documents released by the Dong-A Ilbo on January 20, Lim was fined 5 million won for drunk driving on September 21, 1999. The verdict states that on August 15 of that year, at around 8:25 p.m., he was caught driving for about 3 kilometers from Bupyeong District to Seo District in Incheon with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.153%. This figure far exceeded the license revocation threshold of 0.1% at the time.

At the time, Lim was found to have been driving his wife's motorcycle without a license. As a result of this incident, he was detained for 37 days. Notably, Lim was on probation during this period. In March 1998, he had been sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and fined 300,000 won for violating the Road Traffic Act. He appealed the sentence, but the appeal was dismissed in April 2000.

Lim's drunk driving offenses continued after that. In 2009 and 2017, he was fined 2 million won and 3 million won, respectively, for drunk driving. In 2020, he was caught driving a car in Gasan-dong, Guro District, Seoul, with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.14%. He was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 80 hours of community service and 40 hours of a safe driving course.

Previously, on January 18, Lim admitted on his YouTube channel that he had driven under the influence three times, saying, "I made mistakes because I like to drink." He explained, "About 10 years ago, I was caught after falling asleep in my car with the engine running while drunk, and the most recent incident was five or six years ago." However, a review of court records shows that Lim was actually caught drunk driving on four occasions, which differs from his statements. The YouTube video containing these remarks has been deleted following the growing controversy.

In the video, Lim stated, "Even though many years have passed, I believe I must take responsibility for my actions," and after the controversy erupted following the video's release, he issued another apology in a handwritten letter. However, as discrepancies between his explanation and the actual records have emerged, criticism continues.