French luxury brand L'Occitane is under fire after one of its employees reportedly leaked inappropriate and private photos of K-pop star SEVENTEEN's Mingyu, taken during a commercial shoot.

On September 3, South Korean media outlet Herald Pop reported that the employee in question had been suspended, as the Korean division of the popular brand issued an official apology statement.

L'Occitane Korea, accepting full responsibility, said on its SNS profiles, "We sincerely apologise for the recent incident involving the unauthorised 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.

“We take this matter with the utmost seriousness, and we deeply regret the distress caused to the artist and all the fans. We extend our deepest apologies to them.”

The luxury brand also confirmed that the employee responsible for the outrage has been “completely removed from all duties, and immediate disciplinary action(Suspension) has been enforced.”

To prevent such incidents from happening again, L'Occitane will “implement a comprehensive and regular training program for all employees.”

“This program will emphasise the critical importance of respecting the copyrights, portrait rights, publicity rights, and privacy of our brand ambassador.”

The statement continued, “ 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.”

However, fans weren't satisfied with the employee involved merely being suspended from their post. Several CARATs urged for their termination after local reports revealed that the L'Occitane employee had leaked SEVENTEEN Mingyu's photos on their personal social media profile with the caption, “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.”

The Korean branch of the luxury brand posted the official apology precisely a day after its first full shower oil campaign film starring Mingyu hit the Internet. “Here is the first campaign film with MINGYU, the L’Occitane Asia Ambassador, who ends his day on a positive note through showering,” read a brief extract of the video's description on Instagram.

Fans react to the unacceptable breach of SEVENTEEN Mingyu's privacy

SEVENTEEN's fandom, CARAT, fuming with rage over Mingyu's invasion of privacy, called for the employee's termination instead of a mere suspension. Many admirers of the prolific artist greyed out the immorally shared images, demanding for their beloved singer's protection. Hashtags like “#ProtectMingyu” blew up on social media as the appalled fandom called out the disgusting stunt.

“Suspension? The employee needs to be fired," a fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Someone else commented, “Just because he is a male, it's not a free pass to post inappropriate photos!”

Meanwhile, some even questioned the staff member for taking such videos in the first place. "I feel so hurt for Mingyu, he didn’t work hard to be sexualised. Staff taking videos of him, numerous sexual jokes, fans or not— having fun making sexual jokes.

A fourth user tweeted, “It is already wrong that you filmed him using your personal device unauthorised yet you have the audacity to post it on socmed.”

This has to be stopped. Sexualising an idol should not be tolerated," a fan wrote on X.

Simultaneously, another picture of individuals, presumed to be L'Occitane Korea's employees, also stormed the Internet for all the wrong reasons. Fans shared a visual of the brand's staffers engaging in unprofessional antics. Multiple employees are seen with their phones held up, capturing videos/pictures of a singer at an ill-suited time.

SEVENTEEN's Mingyu was appointed as L'Occitane's first-ever ambassador in the Asian region in May 2024.

At the time of the announcement, Irene Goh, managing director of L'Occitane in the Asia-Pacific region, said: “Mingyu embodies the ideal modern yet Provençal lifestyle—busy but happy to be so, yet appreciating the luxury of taking time to care for himself and those around him.”

Goh continued, “Together with his charisma and authenticity, we see Mingyu as a perfect match for our brand. We are very excited to be working with Mingyu and hope this partnership will inspire everyone to experience the luxury of taking time with L’Occitane.”

Read Also: Jennifer Lopez looks to reinvent her image amid divorce from Ben Affleck