'Altoran' and Lee Sang-min have been embroiled in allegations of unauthorized recipe theft.
On the 20th, a post claiming unauthorized use of a recipe by MBN 'Altoran' was uploaded to the 'Jeongwisunim's vegetable meal' channel.
Jeongwisunim's side said, "On Dec. 7, the recipe identical to Jeongwisunim's banquet noodles was broadcast on a certain general programming channel. The broth had a whole potato halved and placed in it, seasoned with wolfberry powder, and spinach was placed raw and the hot broth poured over it, exactly the same as Jeongwisunim's original method, and even the ingredients and quantities in the recipe in the 'read more' section were identical."
They added, "Seeing a dish created through decades of Jeongwisunim's vegetarian life suddenly transformed into a celebrity's recipe was so absurd and we felt very sorry for Jeongwisunim," and "We inquired on the broadcaster's viewer board to ascertain the facts 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 said, expressing frustration.
They said, "Subscribers are welcome to follow Jeongwisunim's recipes or share them with attribution. However, we will never overlook unauthorized use of the recipes without attribution for profit," and warned, "We intend to pursue this dispute to the end."
The recipe in question was Lee Sang-min's spinach noodle recipe aired on MBN 'Altoran,' and the broadcast gave the impression that Lee Sang-min devised the recipe, sparking controversy. Although protest comments from netizens poured in on related clip videos, no notable feedback has been posted so far.
On the 22nd, Jeongwisunim's side posted an additional message revealing a precise timeline, saying, "The Altoran writer first became aware of this this morning and said they have not yet received the certified letter. They explained it was not intentional silence." According to Jeongwisunim's side, they discovered a subscriber's tip the day after the problematic Altoran broadcast on the 7th, left a protest comment on MBN's official YouTube channel on the 11th asking that the recipe source be disclosed, but "they were all deleted."
They then posted an inquiry about the source on the viewer tip board on the 11th, raised the plagiarism issue to the broadcaster's tip e-mail on the 12th and said, "If there is no contact by noon on the 15th, we will file a rights infringement complaint with the KCC," but received no response. Accordingly, on the 18th they applied for a rights infringement information review to the Korea Media and Communications Commission, and even sent a postal electronic certified letter, the statement said.
Jeongwisunim's side added, "We request sincere measures and compensation from the broadcaster, not a personal apology or explanation," and said, "We apologize deeply to Jeongwisunim and our Hwawoo members for the fatigue this incident has caused. We hope this will be the final post about this matter." Regarding this, MBN told OSEN that it is "checking" the production team's position on the issue.
[Photo] MBN
[OSEN]