'Altoran' acknowledged and apologized for unauthorized recipe use.
On the 22nd, MBN 'Altoran' producers issued an official statement saying, First, we apologize to Venerable Jeongwi and the viewers who were distressed by this matter, and bowed their heads.
Earlier, a post alleging unauthorized use of a recipe by 'Altoran' was uploaded to the 'Venerable Jeongwi's vegetable meal' channel. Venerable Jeongwi's side claimed that the spinach noodles introduced by Lee Sang Min on the broadcast on the 7th were the same recipe as the festive noodles introduced on Venerable Jeongwi's YouTube channel. They said not only the cooking method but also the ingredients and quantities were all identical.
They continued, It was so absurd to see a dish created through Venerable Jeongwi's decades of vegetarian practice suddenly transformed into a celebrity's dish, and I felt deeply sorry to Venerable Jeongwi, adding, To ascertain the facts we inquired via the broadcaster's viewer board and filed a rights infringement review with the Korea Communications Commission (KCC). We also sent a certified letter but the production team remained silent, they lamented.
Later, Venerable Jeongwi's side posted an additional message on the 22nd, saying the Altoran writer first became aware this morning and said they had not yet received the certified letter, explaining that the silence was not intentional, and disclosed a detailed timeline. They said they left a protest comment on MBN's official channel asking to disclose the recipe source, but it was deleted, and they had already raised the plagiarism issue via the viewer tip board and the broadcaster's tip e-mail but received no feedback. They also said they had requested a rights infringement review from the Korea Media and Communications Commission and had sent an electronic certified letter via the post office. They added, We request sincere measures and compensation from the broadcaster, not a personal-level explanation or apology.
Meanwhile, the 'Altoran' producers said the 'spinach noodles' episode broadcast on Dec. 7 was produced after discussing ways to eat spinach in a new way, not as a namul or soup, and noting that various vegetarian recipes have recently attracted much attention, and said they learned of a recipe that produces deep flavor without using anchovies by using wolfberry powder during SNS and AI searches while testing various recipes such as vegan and temple food, but in that process they failed to confirm that the menu had been introduced on Venerable Jeongwi's YouTube channel.
They added, It was the production team's mistake not to review materials more thoroughly. We apologize without excuse, and said the production team visited Venerable Jeongwi in person to explain the circumstances and apologize. Thankfully, the monk offered warm advice, including that it would be better to blanch the spinach among the recipes we introduced. They said they will take care to prevent such incidents in future productions.
Regarding the claim that the viewer board inquiry and the certified letter were met with silence, they explained, The production team did not intentionally delay responses or actions, and we apologize that quick responses or actions did not occur because we failed to check the board in time. We state that we have not received a certified letter or any contact. Had we recognized the situation earlier, we would have looked into it and apologized sooner.
Below is the full official statement from the 'Altoran' producers.
This is the Altoran production team. First, we apologize to Venerable Jeongwi and the viewers who were distressed by this matter.
The 'spinach noodles' episode broadcast on Dec. 7 was produced after discussing ways to eat spinach in a new way, not as a namul or soup, and noting that various vegetarian recipes have recently attracted much attention.
While testing various recipes such as vegan and temple food, we came across a recipe that produces deep flavor without using anchovies by using wolfberry powder during SNS and AI searches, but in that process we failed to confirm that the menu had been introduced on Venerable Jeongwi's YouTube channel. It was the production team's mistake not to review materials more thoroughly. We apologize without excuse.
The production team visited Venerable Jeongwi in person to explain the circumstances and apologize. Thankfully, the monk offered warm advice, including that it would be better to blanch the spinach among the recipes we introduced.
We will take care to prevent such incidents in future productions. We apologize for causing concern to the viewers who trusted and cherished Altoran.
Regarding the claim that inquiries were made to the viewer board and a related certified letter was sent but there was no response: The production team did not intentionally delay responses or actions, and we apologize that quick responses or actions did not occur because we failed to check the board in time. And we state that we have not received a certified letter or any contact. Had we recognized the situation earlier, we would have investigated the situation sooner and offered our apology.
[Photo] MBN
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