Recently, as incidents of celebrity impersonation have been on the rise, the SBS entertainment program ‘Running Man’ has also fallen victim to impersonation.
On the 15th, the ‘Running Man’ production team stated, “Recently, there have been cases of individuals impersonating the ‘Running Man’ production team and demanding bulk deliveries of high-end alcohol. The ‘Running Man’ production team does not request alcohol deliveries under any circumstances, and if you receive any suspicious contact claiming to be from the production team, please do not respond and be especially cautious to prevent any damage.”
They added, “The ‘Running Man’ production team will do its best to prevent such unfortunate incidents from happening again in the future.”
Recently, there have been several incidents of fraud involving individuals impersonating celebrities across the country, causing controversy.
On the same day, it was reported that in Geochang-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, a so-called ‘no-show’ incident occurred where someone impersonated the production team of a movie featuring actor Kang Dong-won, made a restaurant reservation, and induced the purchase of expensive wine.
According to Geochang-gun, this man induced the purchase of two bottles of wine worth 3 million won each from a specific company along with a group meal reservation, swindling a total of 6 million won. He claimed he would pay on the day of the reservation but did not show up, leading to the victimization.
Additionally, in Changwon, Gyeongnam, a man impersonating an employee of singer Nam Jin requested a restaurant to prepare alcohol worth about 4.7 million won along with a group reservation, but he also turned out to be a no-show.
Moreover, the representatives of actor Namgoong-min and singer Song Ga-in also reported that impersonation fraud incidents have been occurring frequently and urged caution through their agencies.
The representatives of actor Byun Woo-seok and broadcaster Lee Soo-geun also mentioned incidents of impersonation, stating, “This so-called ‘celebrity impersonation no-show’ method is a serious illegal act that can cause substantial damage to the industry. We are deeply aware of the seriousness of this matter and plan to take strong measures, including legal action, against impersonation and fraud.”
Meanwhile, ‘Running Man’ has been the longest-running program since its start in 2010, featuring Yoo Jae-suk, Ji Suk-jin, Kim Jong-kook, Haha, Jeon So-min, and Yang Se-chan.
