The Born Korea Finally Criminally Charged... Accused of 'False Origin Labeling'

Violation of Origin Labeling for Soy Sauce, Doenjang, and Agricultural Processed Products
TheBORN Korea: "Mistakes Occurred During Production and Distribution"

TheBORN Korea, led by CEO Baek Jong-won, has been criminally charged for violating origin labeling regulations.

According to the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service on the 14th, the Seoul Office of the Gyeonggi Branch of the agency reported on the 12th that TheBORN Korea falsely labeled the origin of three items: soy sauce, soybean paste, and agricultural processed products, and issued orders to delete and correct the origin labels.

The agency explained that while TheBORN Korea properly labeled the origin on the product containers, it labeled foreign ingredients as domestic on the online shopping mall when selling through the mall. Companies that falsely label origin can face criminal charges and, after prosecution procedures, may be sentenced to up to seven years in prison or fined up to 100 million KRW.

Previously, suspicions were raised that some ingredients in products such as "Baek Jong-won's Baekseok Doenjang" and "Hanshin Pocha Nakji Bokkeum" were foreign but were labeled as domestic on the online mall. Regarding this, TheBORN Korea stated, "We sincerely apologize," and added, "We are rechecking all information on the detailed pages of all products and will take thorough measures to prevent the recurrence of the same issue."

As controversies surrounding TheBORN Korea continued, CEO Baek posted an apology on the company website the day before, saying, "We deeply reflect on the unacceptable mistakes that occurred during the production and distribution processes," and promised, "We will promptly improve all matters, including legal issues."