Netizens' Petition Bar Lee Byung Hun From Appearing in Endorsements

Lee Byung Hun's blackmail scandal is beginning to inflict a sour effect on his career. Uh-oh! Looks like Lee Byung Hun's blackmail scandal is beginning to inflict a sour effect on his career.

Sep 19, 2014 07:14 PM BST

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Uh-oh! Looks like Lee Byung Hun's blackmail scandal is beginning to inflict a sour effect on his career. The actor's CF public relations representative revealed that the actor's endorsement deals may suffer after a petition to oust him for ads successfully reached companies.

On September 5, netizens initiated a petition with the demand to deny Lee Byung Hun from starring in advertisements. The said petition was booted up on Daum Agora. In a more detailed statement, the petition read that while it's easy for the petitioners to boycott Lee Byung Hun's movie or dramas, it is hard to avoid seeing him on television through advertisements. Thus, after the scandal tainted his image, the petition requested for the actor's suspension from advertisements.

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The petition originally sought to acquire 2,000 signatures. But today, over 4,000 signatures have been compiled and the number is expected to grow until the petition's expiration on September 29.

On September 18, Lee Byung Hun's representative responded to the issue in a statement with Tenasia. The representative said that one particular company is considering the petition against the actor. However, Lee Byung Hun's camp is still uncertain as to how other advertisers would take the issue.

With this, Lee Byung Hun's endorsement with label mate Han Hyo Joo could also be imperilled as well.

Han Hyo Joo is also facing a controversy of her own. Unconfirmed rumors suggest that the actress has been involved in his brother's unbecoming behaviour. Han Hyo Joo's younger brother reportedly assaulted a certain Private Kim when he was still serving in the military in 2013. Because of this, BH Entertainment expect that the actress' career and endorsement could also be receiving a backlash as well.

This isn't the first time a celebrity's endorsement deal is affected by controversies surrounding him/her. There have been many instances when companies pulled the plug from endorsements with controversial stars because they do not want their brand name to be tainted with their bad image. Usually, endorsements by stars facing scandals see a decline in sales, and are thus avoided.