Major Discounts on "Hetbahn Rice Plan" Collaborated with Jihweon Jung
Clearing Out Inventory to Replace Packages Featuring His Face
While Jihweon Jung, CEO of the Slow Aging Research Institute who sparked the "slow aging" trend, has withdrawn from public activities due to a controversy over his personal life, a curious phenomenon has emerged: sales of "Hetbahn Rice Plan," a product he launched in collaboration with CJ CheilJedang, have actually increased.
According to the real-time and daily sales rankings on the CJ CheilJedang brand store on Naver as of the afternoon of December 29, the "Hetbahn Rice Plan" products, which Jung developed in partnership with CJ CheilJedang and launched in November last year, are ranking among the top sellers. This appears to be because CJ CheilJedang is offering discounts on the existing Hetbahn Rice Plan products featuring Jung's face and name.
Specifically, the top-selling "Hetbahn Rice Plan Whole Grain Rice (130g)" 36-pack is currently being sold at 29,990 won, which is about a 61% discount from the regular price of 77,400 won. Based on the discounted price, each pack of whole grain rice costs about 830 won, making it roughly 17% cheaper than the "Hetbahn Small Bowl" 36-pack (36,000 won, 1,000 won per pack), which contains only white rice of the same volume.
A notice posted on the CJ CheilJedang brand store on Naver states, "Currently, we are experiencing more orders than expected, so shipping and delivery are being delayed compared to usual."
Maeil Dairies' 'Lentil Low-Sugar Soy Milk' Also 50% Off
Maeil Dairies is seeing a similar situation. The company is selling the 24-pack of "Lentil Low-Sugar Soy Milk," which was also launched in collaboration with Jung, at a 50% discount on its official online store-from the original price of 38,400 won down to 18,900 won. This product has also climbed to the top of the sales rankings.
Industry insiders attribute this phenomenon to the fact that many consumers value "rational consumption" as much as "ethical consumption," which has led to an increase in product purchases.
Jung, who served as a professor of geriatric medicine at Asan Medical Center in Seoul until last year, gained recognition by promoting the concept of slow aging starting in 2023. However, he recently suffered a major blow to his image after being embroiled in an alleged affair with a woman in her 30s who was working as a commissioned researcher. As a result, he stepped down from his position as Seoul's Chief Health Officer, and his radio program was canceled. Jung filed a lawsuit against the woman, claiming he was stalked and accusing her of attempted blackmail and trespassing. In response, the woman filed a countersuit, alleging sexual harassment and describing the case as "gender-based violence within a power dynamic."
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