Theborn Korea announced on the 1st that it has launched an official consultative body to institutionalize a practical coexistence structure between its head office and franchisees during the opening ceremony of the 'Theborn Korea Coexistence Committee.'
According to Theborn Korea, the opening ceremony of the coexistence committee was held at 10 a.m. on the 30th of last month in the meeting room of the annex startup briefing hall in Seocho-gu, Seoul. At this ceremony, the composition and operational direction of the committee were shared, and policies reflecting the practical grievances of franchise owners were actively discussed. Notably, meaningful agreements were reached regarding adjustments to royalties related to delivery sales, which had been of utmost concern, as well as improvements to the settlement process.
The coexistence committee will consist of executives from the head office, representatives from each brand franchise, and external experts. It will collect and implement practical proposals through regular meetings and quarterly reviews.
In particular, with this launch, there are plans to appoint experts from civil society representative organizations as external commissioners to further enhance fairness and public interest. An Jin-geol, director of the People's Living Economy Institute (former civic commissioner of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy), and Park Kyung-jun, a lawyer (former mediator at the Fair Trade Commission, currently a policy commissioner of the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice), will serve as public monitors regarding the balance of franchise businesses and consumer rights protection. Additionally, Yoo Hyo-sang, director of the Unicorn Management Economic Research Institute (former dean of the College of Business Administration at CHA University), and Gu Jung-mo, a lawyer at Deoksu Law Firm, will also join the committee as field experts.
Theborn Korea plans to reduce delivery sales royalties by about 50%. This move aims to practically alleviate the burden incurred by franchise owners from delivery sales, with the goal of recovering their profitability and establishing a sustainable operating foundation. Theborn Korea intends to implement this plan starting in August after an internal review.
Furthermore, the proposal to switch from an annual fixed royalty payment to monthly installments was also approved by the committee and will be implemented from August as well. Theborn Korea noted that this will allow franchise owners to spread out the fixed costs they previously had to pay all at once, thereby enhancing cash flow stability.
During the meeting that day, five additional proposals from franchise owners were also collected: ▲ creation of promotional content related to living restoration support funds ▲ review of fixed royalty discounts ▲ expansion of external social contribution activities linked to ESG ▲ discount events integrated between brands and the establishment of Theborn Korea's unified app ▲ overall improvement of the commission structure through cooperation with delivery platforms.
Paik Jong-won, CEO of Theborn Korea, said, "Thanks to the franchise owners, we could determine the direction of the coexistence committee, and I reflected on why I started a franchise. This committee is a matter of life and death for us, and if any difficulties arise in the future, all brands will gather together to discuss ways to resolve them and operate fairly with external experts, thereby creating a company that anyone would envy."