French luxury brand apologizes to SEVENTEEN's Mingyu for unauthorised photo leak by an employee

French luxury brand L'Occitane has issued a formal apology following an incident where unauthorised and inappropriate photos of SEVENTEEN member Mingyu were leaked by one of its employees. This breach of privacy prompted a strong response from the brand.

The incident occurred when images from L'Occitane’s Asia Ambassador campaign, featuring Mingyu, were improperly shared on a personal social media account by a brand employee. In an official statement released by L'Occitane Korea, the brand expressed its sincere regrets over the situation. The apology stated, "We sincerely apologize for the recent incident involving the unauthorized release of photos from the L’Occitane Asia Ambassador campaign, which were improperly distributed on the personal social media account of one of our employees. We acknowledge that there is no excuse for this breach and fully accept responsibility for what has occurred."

L'Occitane emphasised its commitment to addressing the issue and preventing future occurrences. "We take this matter with the utmost seriousness, and we deeply regret the distress caused to the artist and all the fans," the statement continued. "The employee involved has been completely removed from all duties, and immediate disciplinary action, including suspension, has been enforced."

To prevent such incidents in the future, L'Occitane announced plans to implement a comprehensive training program for all employees. The brand stated, "To prevent such incidents in the future, we will implement a comprehensive and regular training program for all employees. This program will emphasize the critical importance of respecting the copyrights, portrait rights, publicity rights, and privacy of our brand ambassador. We will ensure that every employee thoroughly understands and adheres to these principles, and we will approach this process with a strong sense of responsibility."

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The leaked photos, which revealed more of Mingyu’s body than intended, quickly circulated online. Fans took it upon themselves to add gray blocks to cover the exposed areas and protect his privacy. The employee who posted the images had captioned them with, "Mingyu took up most of my photo album... I couldn't delete them because I was nervous. I guess I should take care of it now."

ORGIL ANJIR NIH STAFF . @LOCCITANE_KOREA, . . @pledis_17@pledis17_STAFF#ProtectMingyupic.twitter.com/Z8lU6evTm4

' \/ ' (@woolovewon6) September 2, 2024

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L'Occitane concluded their apology by reiterating their deep regret and accepting full responsibility for the unfortunate incident, stating, "Once again, we sincerely apologize to the artist and all the fans."