Baek Jong-won Meets Sohn Seok-hee, Addresses 'Overexpansion' and 'Sales Exaggeration' Controversies

MBC 'Jilmun-deul' Broadcast on the 13th

Baek Jong-won, CEO of the franchise The Born Korea and a broadcaster, will directly address controversies such as exaggerated sales advertisements and aggressive brand expansion. This will be featured in the MBC program "Questions," hosted by anchor Sohn Suk-hee, airing on the 13th.

Recently, CEO Baek has been criticized for rapidly expanding to 50 brands in an overreaching manner, focusing solely on boosting the headquarters' sales. According to an analysis by the National Franchise Store Owners Association based on the Fair Trade Commission’s franchise business disclosure documents, the average operating period of The Born Korea’s franchise stores is about 3 years. This is less than half the domestic franchise average operating period of approximately 7 years.

There have also been claims that while The Born Korea’s sales have grown ninefold over the past 13 years, the average sales of franchise owners have been halved. The Born Korea’s sales increased from about 43 billion KRW in 2010 to approximately 388 billion KRW in 2023, more than nine times growth. Meanwhile, the average annual sales per franchise owner dropped from 875 million KRW to 386.8 million KRW during the same period.

In particular, the Yeondon Bolkatsu Franchise Owners Association recently reported The Born Korea’s franchise headquarters to the Fair Trade Commission last month for violating the Franchise Business Act, alleging that the headquarters promoted expected sales and profits with specific figures to prospective franchisees and infringed on the franchisees’ rights to set menu prices.

CEO Baek will share his related stance during the broadcast. The three-hour recording covered conflicts with some Yeondon Bolkatsu franchise owners and controversies over managing other brands. The conversation also touched on why Baek Jong-won, a businessman, continues his social efforts to revitalize local markets and festivals, and the extent of responsibility he holds as a public figure with strong influence. The program can be viewed on MBC at 8:40 PM on the 13th.