Yesan County Denies The Born Korea Used Expired Food Ingredients

"Considering Strong Measures Against the Spread of False Information"

Yesan County Office.

Yesan County in South Chungcheong Province has refuted claims made by some YouTubers that expired food ingredients were used at the Yesan Market Samguk Festival, calling the allegations "groundless."

On June 20, the county stated, "Following YouTube content and media reports, we conducted a comprehensive inspection of supply lists from 40 food booths that participated in the Samguk Festival," and explained, "Of these, 15 booths received food ingredients from The Born Korea."

The county further clarified, "Among the 15 food booths that received ingredients from The Born Korea, there was not a single case of using any of the eight types of expired food ingredients."

The county criticized, "Using provocative terms such as 'human trash can' without verifying the facts has caused defamation and a sense of loss among the officials and residents who diligently prepared for the festival."

A county official stated, "At the festival site, we reviewed a safety management plan for hygiene control to ensure the provision of safe food, and organized a hygiene inspection team to conduct continuous on-site hygiene checks during the festival period," adding, "We are considering strong measures against the dissemination of false information to prevent the festival's reputation and the efforts of county residents from being undermined."

Previously, Kim Jaehwan, a former MBC documentary PD, raised suspicions in a video titled "Why Does Baek Jongwon Risk Everything for Local Festivals?" on his YouTube channel, alleging that The Born Korea used food ingredients that were several months past their expiration date at a local festival.

In response, on June 14, The Born Korea explained, "The photos posted by the YouTuber were taken not at the Samguk Festival site, but at a separate rented warehouse (Yesan Juru) located in Yesan-eup," and clarified, "This warehouse is used to temporarily store leftover food ingredients after events or external activities."

The company added, "Products past their expiration date are kept together for a certain period for disposal and then discarded all at once."