'Culinary Class Wars' chef Triple Star accused of cheating, verbal abuse, lobbying, embezzlement
Triple Star, a chef who rose to fame after placing third in the hit Netflix South Korean cooking competition Culinary Class Wars, has been reportedly absent from his restaurant amid several allegations like cheating, verbal abuse, lobbying, and embezzlement.
In an interview with Dispatch, the chef's ex-wife made multiple claims about suffering "countless wounds" from her marriage to Triple Star, or Kang Seung-won in real life.
She said Kang married her in 2022 but divorced three months later. They, however, didn't officially register their marriage and were in a common-law relationship.
Lobbying
The ex-wife said she met the chef in 2014 in the United States when he was a culinary student.
She claimed that she had lobbied for Kang to get hired at a Michelin restaurant despite his inexperience by giving designer bags to her network, saying the people she knows could influence hiring at the restaurants he wanted.
Kang confirmed his ex-wife's bag giving, but said she "simply gifted them to close friends."
He poked fun at the idea of hiring someone because of a bag, noting he reached out through email, worked as an unpaid intern for three months, and was ultimately hired as a full-time employee due to his efforts.
The ex-wife also claimed Kang urged her to sleep with other men as part of a supposed fantasy, but he denied this.
Embezzlement
In another report, Allkpop said that on the local online community forum DC Inside, a user said they filed a report against him before the Gangnam Police Station for alleged embezzlement.
The post included screenshots of the formal complaint filed through the South Korean government's civil service portal.
Kang's ex-wife reportedly found him transferring restaurant funds to his family, which led to their divorce.
The user noted that since Kang and his ex-wife were in a common-law relationship, they aren't legal relatives, and the concept of "kinship immunity," which exempts relatives from criminal liability in cases of misappropriation, won't apply.
Threats
Their alleged conversation in September 2023 also showed him threatening to stab her to death but was "really holding back" and that he was "incredibly angry." She got a new boyfriend in August of that year.
In a reply, the ex-wife claimed Kang was drinking and dining with other women in nice restaurants while she was at home paying rent, cleaning, and cooking for him.
Kang told Dispatch it's not "usually" his style and his anger must have a reason. He also told the outlet that it only saw a part of their conversation and did selective editing.
In another conversation at that time, the ex-wife warned Kang she wouldn't sit still if he brought dishonor to her kids. She said she was going to set everything straight even if it meant "flipping the whole world around."
Kang said he didn't know what would happen as he'd also start a family someday. She told him he'd understand, and he replied that if she did this, "I think I'll want to kill everyone too."
Kang declined to comment about this particular exchange, while his lawyer said there may be context leading up to them.
The ex-wife is considering filing a case against Kang for blackmail and intimidation, Dispatch reported.
Handwritten letters amid 'love and war'
As Kang and his ex-wife went through "love and war," he reportedly wrote her several letters.
They're marked by countless reflections, apologies, pledges, and resolutions, according to Dispatch.
One letter showed Kang telling his ex-wife that he's secretly watching a female customer in sexy clothing through the closed circuit television in the dark storage room.
Another letter showed Kang saying he likes women but he is trash, harbors dirty greed, and has done something unforgivable to his ex-wife, calling her a person who gave him immense love.
In another letter, he said he holds the thought of spending a lifetime together with her, giving her trust as a lifelong partner, and proving it through his actions.
Kang's lawyer said he made a lot of compromises for her and "often had to yield to keep the peace."
Kang, meanwhile, said his letters were meant to calm his ex-wife when she was angry.
Ghosting, Kang's 'fake image'
In April 2022, Kang's ex-wife saw an Instagram direct message from his ex-girlfriend, who said they dated for about four months before he ghosted her. The ex-wife was an investor at Trid, where she also handled marketing and social media duties.
In the purported direct message, Kang's ex-girlfriend said she wasn't going to congratulate him and was holding back on contacting "her," pertaining to his ex-wife.
The ex-girlfriend said she wanted to pay him back. She also asked for a reply, "before I think to do something worse."
The ex-girlfriend told Dispatch she learned that she was getting married and opening a restaurant, describing it as a "betrayal" that "left a deep wound."
She tried to move on until she saw him on Culinary Class Wars, and was anxious about the praises Kang has been getting. She raised the alarm over the "fake image of him in the media."
Responding to the ghosting allegations, Kang told Dispatch that their relationship lasted for about two months and stopped contacting her due to their different perspectives.
He also denied reaching out to his ex-girlfriend as Dispatch began its investigation, but the outlet shared a screenshot of him supposedly asking her to go on a call due to "an important matter." In the purported screenshot, Kang told his ex-girlfriend he will protect her since the matter, which he didn't specify in the message, could affect her.
Netflix 'unable to verify'
Amid allegations against Kang, Netflix said it's "unable to verify or provide statements regarding media reports on cast members’ personal matters.”
Aside from his responses to Dispatch, Kang didn't issue any official statement and has disabled comments on his restaurant’s and personal social media accounts.
Culinary Class Wars followed a cookery contest in which contestants competed throughout various rounds. Their dishes were judged by Korea’s top restaurateur Paik Jong-won and Chef Anh Sung-jae of Mosu Seoul, the country's sole Michelin three-star restaurant chef.
Kwon Seong-joon from the Black Spoons was eventually declared the winner and won the KRW 300 million (P12.7 million) prize money.
Last October, Netflix announced that the show has been renewed for a second season, saying it will "escalate the competition into an even more intense battle of culinary prowess."
Kang's restaurant Trid unaffected
Amid the allegations, the chef was spotted at a culinary event in Seoul.
Allkpop, citing local outlet Xports News, reported that Kang is away from his restaurant Trid due to "scheduled commitments" and is expected to return by mid-November, if not December.
Reservations at Trid remain unaffected, according to Allkpop.
Monthly bookings for December, which opened on Nov. 1, and special Christmas reservations starting Nov. 13, go on as planned.
Amid the allegations against Kang, his restaurant's November bookings have reportedly sold out without any cancellations.
The Korea Times reported that the chef was at the 2024 Asia's 50 Best Restaurant event in the Sebitseom cultural complex in the Banpo-dong neighborhood.
“Triple Star attended the event as scheduled," the South Korean capital confirmed.
Photos of Kang, including him being in group shots, were shared online.
