Theborn Korea has suspended the sale of 'Baeckham' gift sets on its official online mall. The measure appears to be aimed at minimizing product exposure amid ongoing controversies surrounding Baeckham.

According to the industry on the 18th, Theborn Korea recently deleted the product listings of Baeckham gift sets from its shopping mall 'Theborn Mall.' Following the pricing controversy during the Lunar New Year holiday, the company had previously labeled the four types of products as 'sold out' but has now completely removed them.

Currently, search terms related to Baeckham are trending on Theborn Mall. However, the actual products are unavailable for purchase. Baeckham is still being sold on some online shopping malls that are not directly operated, such as Coupang and SSG.com.

Theborn Korea CEO Baek Jong-won expresses his thoughts on the listing at the ceremony commemorating the new listing on the KOSDAQ held at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, last year. /Courtesy of News1

Last month, Baek Jong-won, the CEO of Theborn Korea, noted on YouTube that a set of canned ham 'Baeckham' priced at 51,900 won for Lunar New Year gift sets would be sold for about 28,500 won after a 45% discount.

Afterward, a consumer compared it with Spam, the top canned ham in market share, escalating the controversy. The complaint was that while the price was high, the pork content was reportedly lower. Spam, of the same volume, is sold for a minimum price of 21,750 won on Coupang. The pork content for Spam and Baeckham is 92.37% and 85.42%, respectively. However, Baeckham uses only domestically produced pork, while Spam uses a mix of domestic, U.S., Spanish, and Canadian pork.

Baek personally appeared on YouTube to clarify the situation. He said, 'While a margin of 1,500 won per set occurs at a 45% discount sale, including operating expenses, the actual margin is nearly zero.' He continued, 'The difference in meat content based on 200 grams (7%) is about 14 grams, and the cost of 14 grams of meat is less than 100 won. Would I reduce the meat content to save 100 won?'

A representative from Theborn Korea stated, 'Currently, the sold-out situation continues, so we temporarily excluded the products from the list to minimize consumer inconvenience,' and noted, 'We are reviewing the possibility of reselling them soon.'

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