'Blacklist' Bulletin Board Created on Online Cafe
Baek Jongwon Received 822 Million KRW in Compensation Last Year
Labor authorities have launched an inspection into Theborn Korea, led by CEO Baek Jong-won, following recent allegations of an 'employee blacklist.'
On the 20th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that the Seoul Gangnam branch of the ministry began an unscheduled labor inspection at Theborn Korea's headquarters located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, this afternoon.
Theborn Korea recently faced allegations of creating an 'employee blacklist' bulletin board on the Saemaeul Sikdang online cafe operated by its headquarters. Since 2017, Theborn Korea has managed an online cafe for Saemaeul Sikdang franchise owners, and it was recently revealed that a 'blacklist' board was created in 2022. Subsequently, posts requesting labor inspections of Theborn Korea were also submitted to the national petition platform, Gukmin Sinmungo.
Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea, is giving a presentation at The Born Korea corporate briefing held at the Conrad Hotel in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on October 28 last year. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung
In response, Theborn Korea stated on the 19th, "The bulletin board was created in May 2022 at the request of a franchise owner but was not activated," adding, "The purpose of creating the board was to serve as a reference due to serious damage cases involving malicious accusations and threats by some franchise employees against specific franchise owners."
According to the Labor Standards Act, creating and using a list with the intent to obstruct employment constitutes 'employment obstruction.' This act is punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million KRW. A Ministry of Employment and Labor official said, "We will thoroughly investigate the facts and take strict action against any legal violations."
Meanwhile, CEO Baek Jong-won received over 800 million KRW in compensation last year.
According to the business report disclosed by Theborn Korea on the 20th, CEO Baek received 822 million KRW in salary from Theborn Korea last year. Theborn Korea explained, "The base salary was determined comprehensively considering duties, position, length of service, and company contribution within the director's compensation limit approved at the shareholders' meeting, and 68.5 million KRW was paid monthly." This is the first time CEO Baek's compensation has been disclosed following Theborn Korea's listing. Previously, CEO Baek received approximately 1.76 billion KRW in dividends.
Recently, controversies surrounding CEO Baek and Theborn Korea have not ceased. Recent issues include price inflation of the 'Baek Ham Gift Set' released during the last Lunar New Year, problems with the content of tangerine beer ingredients, cooking indoors with an LP gas cylinder, pesticide sprayer usage controversy, and violations related to origin labeling and food hygiene laws.
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