Judge!, Korean internet celebrity fan of "feigning death" in Ukraine | Li Gen | Ukraine

The South Korean online celebrity "Lieutenant Li Gen", who took advantage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict to brush off enough traffic, became yellow.

On August 17th, the Seoul court announced in the first instance that Lee Geun had violated the Passport Law and the Law on Aggravated Penalties for Certain Crimes, and was sentenced to one and a half years in prison with a three-year probation. He was required to complete 80 hours of social service and receive 40 hours of law-abiding driving courses. After the verdict was pronounced, the judge said, "Staying in Ukraine and joining the mercenary corps locally may impose unnecessary burdens on the country."

60 day "Battlefield Show"

Last March, Lee Gun, a retired officer of the South Korean Navy's special operations unit, announced that he would go to Ukraine as a mercenary.

Before departure, he wrote a farewell letter to his homeland, stating his determination to go to Ukraine to "contribute his combat expertise" and hoping to receive support from the South Korean government. He also claimed to convene colleagues within 48 hours to become an "Asian assault team" on the front line of the conflict.

The South Korean government expressed "shock and fear" and warned Lee Geun, "South Korean law does not allow citizens to participate in private warfare. If you violate regulations and go to Ukraine, the government will file criminal charges and impose a fine of 10 million Korean won."

However, South Korean netizens believe that Lee Geun is a "hero". At that time, South Korean media surveys showed that nearly 60% of respondents supported Li Gen's participation in the war. On March 6th, Li Gen threw down the phrase "stupid bureaucrats won't understand" and flew directly to Poland. The next day, he entered western Ukraine and officially registered as an "international volunteer".

·Li Gen posted photos on his social media account.

At that time, there were constant reports of foreign mercenaries entering Ukraine to participate in the war. Among these "experiencers", Li Gen, who has a strong sense of camera, is very good at getting things done.

On March 13th, the Russian military announced that it had eliminated 180 foreign mercenaries through precision strikes. For a moment, the news of Li Gen's death in battle spread. Two days later, Li Gen posted, saying, "I'm still alive. My team members have safely evacuated Ukraine, but I stayed alone." The hype made him trending.

In Ukraine, he didn't idle for a minute, using various fancy filming techniques to narrate the "real side of the battlefield" from a first person perspective, and made a set of videos called "Ukrainian Diaries".

·Li Gen posted combat photos on his social media account.

In the camera, Li Gen was able to "eliminate two Russian soldiers" with just one mission, and various "exclusive materials" quickly increased his fans to 850000, with a video playing 2.19 million times.

On May 27, 2022, Li Gen returned to South Korea as an injured person and stayed in Ukraine for two months. Li Gen, who walked out of the airport, said that his two cruciate ligaments were severely torn and needed surgery.

The police interviewed him and claimed that he went to Ukraine without permission, violating passport laws. But his fan base has increased instead of decreasing.

In January of this year, Li Gen was officially prosecuted and tried together with the hit and run case from July last year. In March, he defended himself: "I did not participate in the Russia-Ukraine conflict for Ukraine, but for the sake of innocent people. I apologize for violating the passport law, but still think it is a good decision to fight in Ukraine."

The questioning of him has never stopped

Although Li Gen has many fans, his doubts have never stopped.

There are reports that after arriving in Ukraine, Li Gen once ran away because he was afraid of death. During his stay at the Uzbek border, there were rumors that he pretended to be dead and hid in Poland to film. Many South Korean netizens suspect him of being a traffic blogger, treating the battlefield as a runway show, and some even call him a "battlefield clown".

Li Gen once gave an interview to South Korean media in Ukraine, stating that rumors circulating outside that he "did not go to the front line, but stayed in a hotel on the Uzbek Polish border", "was busy filming videos", and "directed and performed war scenes in Poland" were all false news.

·Li Gen's "combat video" is marked with the character "Lieutenant Li Gen" in the right image.

The reporter asked, "A South Korean student said they saw you having breakfast at a hotel in Poland and often filming military themed films nearby." Li Gen said, "Bring evidence. If someone spreads that kind of rumor, I think he is very likely a Russian spy."

·Li Gen's video.

However, he also admitted that the war was cruel: "Most of the fighters who fought alongside me were from Britain and America, with rich practical experience. This is a real war, completely different from the previous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Li Gen said that in the face of Russian artillery shells, his mercenary team decided to withdraw from the "too dangerous battlefield" and go to safer areas for combat. When a base was bombed by the Russian army, many mercenaries were killed, and the rest decided to go home. "I became the only Korean mercenary left behind.".

Although he stayed, Li Gen refused to let the Ukrainian side send him to the front line again. The Ukrainian side asked him to go to the rear to do auxiliary work.

·Li Gen's battlefield photos are suspected by South Korean media to be posing for filming.

During this period, Li Gen also posted many "frontline photos" to prove that he was "busy fighting every day.". However, these photos have more doubts, and Korean media question whether they were taken in person.

Pai Pai Lao Shou

It's not excessive to say that Li Gen is good at posing and can show off.

In 2017, Li Gen participated in a BBC program called "Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week". The instructor he played had the toughest training, with the highest number of dropouts midway and skyrocketing ratings. The entertainment industry has seen his ability to create program effects.

Li Gen, who wanted to enter the entertainment industry, quickly gained news.

In December 2019, an entertainment journalist revealed that Li Gen had been charged with sexual assault on women and even shared court case numbers. But the case has been dismissed, and the accusation quickly dissipated.

Subsequently, the entertainment journalist also claimed that Li Gen's resume was fake, stating that Li Gen had not worked at the United Nations as claimed. Li Gen exposed his work permit again and directly refuted it.

·Li Gen shared his work permit and responded to the allegations.

These two storms did not harm Li Gen at all, but rather brought him a wave of popularity.

In 2020, as a director of a military consulting company, he also played the role of a instructor in the Korean variety show "Fake Man", with a Korean American accent, causing even greater stir in the entertainment industry.

In 2021, Li Gen founded the YouTube channel "ROKSEAL", which introduced various tactical skills, gun usage methods, as well as practical combat and self rescue experiences of special forces, and successfully became a "military internet celebrity".

·In the "ROKSEAL" channel, Li Gen is invincible and extremely brave.

In the program, the filming team used various lenses and sound effects to create Li Gen as a "real man" who could do anything from heaven to earth and was extremely brave. Due to the rarity of such internet celebrities, the number of subscribers to the "ROKSEAL" channel has rapidly increased.

·Li Gen announced on the "ROKSEAL" channel that he is going to Ukraine.

It was because of this program that Li Gen decided to wipe the "traffic" of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In the program, he claimed to be a "practical expert" and fans cheered him on. He made bold remarks on the "ROKSEAL" channel, stating that he was "ready to go to Ukraine". In fact, this is his first real battle.

I once wanted to become a US military officer

Li Gen's addiction to firearms is related to his American experience.

In 1984, Li Gen was born in South Korea. At the age of 3, he immigrated to the United States with his family.

Li Gen is very talented in sports. He was a school team swimmer in high school and achieved the highest score of 16th place in his class in the United States.

In 2006, Reagan graduated from the Virginia Military Academy in the United States. The next year, he planned to join the US military, but was convinced by his father to join the South Korean Navy.

After completing the naval non commissioned officer candidate course on the destroyer, Lee Gun joined the South Korean Navy Special Operations Regiment. This unit is modeled after the US Special Forces Navy SEALs and has strict training. Li Gen has worked in multiple departments of this unit and was also sent to the waters of Somalia in 2009. It is said that he participated in missions to save hostages and combat piracy.

In 2012, Li Gen was sent to the United States to participate in basic underwater explosive training for the Navy SEALs and complete junior officer training courses. After returning to South Korea, he served as an instructor in the South Korean Navy Special Operations Corps and was discharged from the military in 2014, transitioning to reserve service. He is also one of only over ten flying mouse gliders in South Korea. The above experiences are repeated at the beginning of Li Gen's YouTube program every time.

After retiring, Li Gen joined a private security company and was sent to Iraq for one year. Afterwards, he successively served as an anti-terrorism consultant in the South Korean police force and the Brazilian special police force.

In 2017, Li Gen served as the security investigator for the US Department of Defense in South Korea. From 2018 to 2020, he served as a United Nations security officer, assisting the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in its work in Myanmar. The United Nations work permit he shared was obtained during this period.

Li Gen, who took advantage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict to "rub the flow", was sentenced, but after all, he was still intact. There are also some internet celebrities like him who rush to the battlefield to gain followers, and the cost they pay is mostly high. On June 30, 2022, Brazilian internet celebrity Duvalle quickly hid in an underground bunker during a firefight in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, but suffocated to death.

When Li Genchu returned to South Korea, he made bold statements, saying that it was "for recovery and treatment", and that he also wanted to return to Ukraine, "we must work harder and continue to fight.". But now, as a probationary officer, he can safely continue telling stories, playing heroes, boosting traffic, and his blood and death have nothing to do with him in South Korea.