After ordering 5 drinks at Paikdabang, I checked the receipt and...

Ingredient Origins Listed Even for Unordered Items
Receipt Length Exceeds 50 cm

On the 21st, various online communities and social networking services (SNS) were abuzz with a post titled ‘Baek Jong-won Receipt Controversy After Origin Labeling Violation at Paik’s Coffee’.

This issue arose from labeling the entire origin of ingredients used in the store, and when some pointed out it was ‘excessive labeling,’ The Born Korea stated they would take corrective measures.

A recent receipt received by a consumer at Paik's Coffee. Screenshot from an online community.

Recently, there have been numerous online reviews saying they received an excessively long receipt after ordering a menu item at Paik’s Coffee. The attached photos showed the bottom of the receipt densely filled with the origins of various ingredients. Ingredients unrelated to the ordered menu were also listed. The receipt length exceeded 50 cm.

This has drawn mostly negative reactions from netizens. Comments included criticisms such as “Are they sulking and throwing a tantrum?” and “Are they trying to compete over ingredient origins?” Other remarks were “The receipt is as long as a roll of toilet paper” and “The receipt was so long that I wondered what it was, but it was all origin labeling.” A netizen working at Paik’s Coffee also commented, “Looks like we’ll be ordering receipt paper (thermal paper) frequently.”

Previously, CEO Baek was criminally investigated for violating origin labeling laws by falsely advertising some of his company’s products containing Chinese ingredients as domestic. This origin labeling at Paik’s Coffee appears to be the company’s response to that controversy.

According to the Act on the Labeling of Origin of Agricultural and Fishery Products, when dining inside the store, origin labeling can be done inside the store, but for external consumption such as delivery, the origin must be indicated through receipts or similar means. However, for rest food services like Paik’s Coffee, origin labeling is only required for beef, pork, chicken, and some seafood. Paik’s Coffee, however, provided origin information for all ingredients, including those not required to be labeled such as vegetable cream and butter.

Meanwhile, following the controversy over excessive origin labeling, The Born Korea issued an official statement on the 21st saying, “We are quickly implementing corrective measures so that origin information is only provided to customers ordering bakery and other non-cooked frozen products for delivery.”