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Burger King's fall menu item "Truffle Mushroom Whopper," featuring actor Yoo Hae-jin as its brand ambassador [Burger King]
Burger King's fall menu item "Truffle Mushroom Whopper," featuring actor Yoo Hae-jin as its brand ambassador [Burger King]

Burger King has been caught in the fallout from a historical distortion controversy surrounding "The Assassins," a film starring Yoo Hae-jin, who serves as the brand's fall season ambassador.

According to industry sources Wednesday, the fast-food chain has seen a growing number of customer inquiries demanding the early termination of Yoo's modeling contract.

Burger King has yet to decide on a formal response, but has disabled comments on its promotional video on its official YouTube channel.

The ad video titled "This Fall, New~Haejin Tmwa, Truffle Mushroom Whopper" on Burger King's official YouTube channel now displays a notice reading "Comments are turned off."

Burger King launched five fall season menu items, including the Truffle Mushroom Whopper, on Sept. 16, unveiling a seasonal campaign with Yoo as its ambassador.

The campaign plays on Yoo's name, combining it with the Korean word for "new" to create the concept "New~Haejin Tmwa."

The controversy erupted after "The Assassins," which depicts the 1974 assassination attempt on first lady Yuk Young-soo, drew accusations of distorting historical facts — fueling a growing backlash against Yoo as the film's lead actor.

Posts calling for boycotts of brands associated with the film's lead actors have been spreading across SNS platforms and online communities.


siuu@heraldcorp.com