Apology Statement on the 'Chinese Doenjang' Controversy: "Domestic Supply Difficult, Will Prevent Recurrence"

The Born Korea: "Difficulties in Sourcing Domestic Ingredients"
"Production Methods Being Transitioned"
"Will Use This as an Opportunity to Review Compliance with Other Laws"

The food service franchise company The Born Korea, led by entrepreneur and broadcaster Baek Jong-won, has expressed an apology regarding allegations of violating the Farmland Act.

On the 11th, The Born Korea stated in an official statement, "We sincerely apologize for using imported raw materials without properly recognizing the relevant laws." They added, "In the domestic jang industry, it is difficult to source domestic soybeans and wheat, which are the main ingredients," and explained, "We are in the process of transitioning our production methods to manufacture products that comply with the relevant laws." They also said, "Regardless of the reason, we deeply apologize for causing controversy," and promised, "We will take this as an opportunity to internally check for any other legal violations and do our best to prevent recurrence."

CEO Baek Jong-won of The Born Korea. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

The previous day, a media outlet reported that The Born Korea’s Baekseok Factory in Yesan, Chungnam, was selling products made with Chinese improved fermented soybean paste and imported soybeans and wheat. According to the report, the address of Baekseok Factory, 359-71 Yeoktap-ri, Oga-myeon, Yesan-gun, is designated as an agricultural promotion zone where the use of imported raw materials is fundamentally prohibited, except for facilities processing domestically produced agricultural and marine products. Violations of this can result in imprisonment of up to five years or fines up to 50 million won under Article 59 of the Farmland Act. Relatedly, a complaint was filed through the National Petition System requesting punishment of CEO Baek and Baekseok Factory for violating the Farmland Act.

Meanwhile, The Born Korea received a prior administrative disposition notice from the county last October for violations of the Building Act and Farmland Act. According to reports, a complaint was filed last October through the National Petition System stating that two vinyl greenhouses near Baekseok Factory were being used as warehouses, contrary to the construction report for temporary buildings. Upon on-site inspection, the county found that the vinyl greenhouses, which were reported in 2012 to be used as fixed agricultural greenhouses, were actually being used as storage for equipment. Consequently, in November last year, before issuing an administrative order for restoration of the violating buildings, the county sent a prior notice to The Born Korea. It is reported that The Born Korea voluntarily dismantled the vinyl greenhouses after receiving the notice.

Regarding this, The Born Korea explained, "Reports claiming that Baekseok Factory illegally used warehouses without farmland conversion permission from the beginning are not true," and added, "The two vinyl greenhouses, as temporary buildings, were intended to be used as greenhouses, so they were not subject to farmland conversion permission." They further stated, "They were indeed used as greenhouses, and only some leftover space inside was used to store equipment."