SEOUL, March 31: A famed Russian martial arts fighter is on the warpath after being featured in an unauthorised South Korean TV commercial said to damage his powerful image.

Korean prosecutors said on Monday they have charged the chief of a local martial arts group with fraud for using the publicity rights of Fedor Emelianenko without consent.

The Russian is the world heavyweight champion in mixed martial arts and is very popular in South Korea.

Emelianenko had filed a complaint seeking $1.56 million in compensation from Korea Sambo Federation chief Moon Jong-Keum and the head of a beekeepers’ association.

Moon only secured a one-year negotiation right with Emelianenko and had not signed a deal authorising him to use the Russian fighter’s image, Yonhap news agency said. But he allegedly received 22 million won from the beekeepers’ association for the commercial, which has aired on local cable TV.

It shows a victorious Emelianenko in the ring, followed by footage of a bee landing on a yellow flower. The Russian is shown sampling a jar of honey and intones “Seonyu Honey is good.” ”Fedor is the sports star who commands the image of being the strongest fighter in the world,” the agency said in its complaint.

“The defendants damaged Fedor’s image by producing commercials that do not fit his powerful image and were made with shoddy footage.”—AFP