Fans of "Culinary Class Wars" have rallied around Paik Jong-won, the CEO of Theborn Korea, who announced a halt to his broadcasting activities.
On 6th, the gallery side of the online community DC Inside's "Culinary Class Wars" issued a statement expressing support for CEO Paik Jong-won.
"Culinary Class Wars" is a Netflix original entertainment show about a survival competition among chefs, which won the grand award in the broadcasting sector at the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards held on 5th, demonstrating its influence once again. Currently, Season 2 is in production. Amid this, as criticism arose regarding Theborn Korea's recent issues concerning CEO Paik Jong-won, who appeared as a judge in both Season 1 and Season 2, fans of "Culinary Class Wars" expressed their support for CEO Paik Jong-won, the featured participant.
Fans of "Culinary Class Wars" noted, "At the center of the program is Theborn Korea's CEO Paik Jong-won. He is recognized for his contributions in elevating food and cooking to popular culture, and he is evaluated as a key figure in this award. However, CEO Paik Jong-won is currently facing social criticism amid ongoing legal controversies and additional charges. Nevertheless, we cannot help but question how hypocritical this society is being regarding its standards."
They compared the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the second trial's not guilty verdict regarding Lee Jae-myung, a candidate for president from the Democratic Party of Korea, to the situation of CEO Paik Jong-won. They stated, "While being lenient towards political figures, society holds exceptionally strict standards for broadcasters. This does not align with the public's sense of justice. Legal responsibility should be acknowledged as it is, but the efforts and sincerity of individuals should not be erased."
On this day, CEO Paik Jong-won emphasized that he would cease all broadcasting activities, except for the program currently being filmed, prior to the statement from fans of "Culinary Class Wars." He underscored his responsible stance as the CEO of Theborn Korea. Currently, it is known that CEO Paik Jong-won has completed filming for MBC's "Chef of the South Pole" and Netflix's "Culinary Class Wars: Culinary Class Wars Season 2." Additionally, there has been recent news regarding filming for tvN's "The Genius of Businessman Baek Season 3" being captured abroad.
In response, fans of "Culinary Class Wars" expressed, "We sincerely hope that CEO Paik Jong-won will diligently engage in the upcoming investigations and legal processes while also resuming his creative and beneficial broadcasting activities, including 'Culinary Class Wars Season 2.' This is not just about an individual's freedom of activity, but also about preserving the diversity and autonomy of the entire content industry."
They also added, "Fans are eagerly anticipating the day when 'Culinary Class Wars Season 2' is aired, believing and supporting that CEO Paik will return in an authentic manner that meets the public's expectations. A society where fair and consistent standards are applied to everyone is the justice we seek, and we sincerely hope that CEO Paik Jong-won will bravely return to broadcasting in the future."
[Photo] OSEN DB. Source: online community.
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