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| Vice Chairman of Shinsegae Group Chung Yong-jin prepares food in the video posted on E-Mart's official YouTube channel on Dec. 23, 2020. / Screen captured from E-Mart's YouTube channel |
By Kim Jae-heun
Vice Chairman of Shinsegae Group Chung Yong-jin has recently been enjoying popularity on Instagram where he shares posts on his personal life and company products.
Chung recently uploaded a video hinting at his debut as a YouTuber. The caption below read "YJ Log (Yong Jin's vlog) will be revealed this week."
In the preview video, Chung is wearing an apron and cooking in the kitchen with assistants. There is also a front view of an E-Mart building in Seongsu, eastern Seoul, in the scene, which suggests that this is not just him going about his hobby but rather a collaboration with E-Mart to introduce his company's products.
E-mart, which is a subsidiary of Shinsegae Group, currently operates the private label "Peacock" that makes home meal replacements.
Chung's influence on social media has already been high since he appeared on Starbucks Korea's YouTube channel.
After revealing nitro cold brew coffee as his favorite Starbucks beverage on YouTube, sales of the drink tripled in two weeks. Starbucks Korea is a joint venture launched in an equal partnership between E-Mart and the Starbucks Corporation in the United States.
Chung believes story-driven content has the power to grab people's attention and can lead to increased sales. He also communicates with the public through Instagram, where each posts receives an average 500 to 600 comments. He has over 515,000 followers on media as of Jan. 10.
But YouTube is different to Instagram as video has much more to show than a two dimensional picture. Instagram also features video content but these are limited to 1 minute duration.
Regardless, Chung has already been hit for his mistake on Instagram, last year.
Chung's post on Starbucks' "summer ready bag" caused a stir online. People complained that they waited for hours to receive the popular reward item while Chung seems to have been able to obtain one effortlessly.
A Shinsegae official said the company plays no part in Chung's activities on social media and what he uploads online is his own affair.
Though his videos receive much attention and helps with sales of his company's products, even one small mistake can lead to huge public criticism and damage to the firm's reputation.
