Baek Jong-won "In the End, Only the Building Owner Benefits"... Directly Bought a Store at Yesan Market

"Broadcast Exposure and Promotion Cause Rent to Keep Rising"
"Cooperating with Local Governments to Directly Purchase Some Commercial Spaces"

Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea, revealed that he personally purchased part of the commercial area in Yesan Market, Chungnam. This decision came as signs of rent increases emerged due to the rising brand value of the market.

On the 13th, Baek appeared on the first episode of MBC's 'Docu Plus - Baek Jong-won Becomes a Market Owner' and said, "I have been providing solutions to restaurants and promoting them through various programs to help revitalize alleyway markets and local commercial districts," adding, "In the end, I ended up benefiting the landlords. The landlords keep raising the rent."

He explained, "From the very beginning of approaching Yesan Market, we kept this in mind and explored various possible measures regarding rent with the local government," and added, "So the local government also purchased some commercial properties in certain areas, and we deliberately bought some shops as well."

He continued, "Of course, we cannot forcibly prevent rent increases," but emphasized, "We need to create a stable atmosphere so that everyone mutually restrains themselves by knowing 'this place is this much'."

Since 2018, Baek has signed the 'Yesan-type Old Downtown Win-Win Agreement' with Yesan County. Since then, he has been promoting various projects to revive the local commercial district and respond to regional extinction.

Among these efforts, the reorganized Yesan Market through the 'Save Yesan Market Project' has emerged as a nationwide tourist attraction thanks to the so-called 'Baek Jong-won Effect.' It is reported that about 1.37 million people visited the market from January to July this year.

Regarding this, Baek said, "(Yesan Market) is a place where I have childhood memories," and explained, "I was surprised to see all the shops rented out. I felt a sense of crisis that the region was becoming so difficult and that the area might disappear if things went wrong, which led me to participate in the project."