On the 21st, police stated that they had charged Baek Jong-won, the CEO of Theborn Korea, with violating the Food Labeling and Advertising Act.
Previously, the Gangnam police in Seoul received a complaint through the national petition site on the 19th that Baek's franchise, Ppaksikdabang, misled customers about the origin of its new product. According to the complaint, Ppaksikdabang promoted its 'Sticky Sweet Potato Bread' on Instagram in January last year with the phrase 'Our agricultural products, our Ppaksikdabang,' but stated in other advertisements that 'some sweet potatoes are sourced from China.'
The complainant, referred to as A, noted in a post on 'DC Inside' the previous day that "Ppaksikdabang deliberately excluded the term 'sourced from China' in its advertisements,” claiming it was “not a simple editing mistake but an act that led consumers to misinterpret the origin of the product as domestically sourced agricultural products." A also stated that they had submitted a petition to the Gangnam District Office in Seoul, requesting a corrective order and a suspension of manufacturing for Ppaksikdabang.
Previously, CEO Baek has come under scrutiny due to ongoing issues regarding product origins and materials and supplies content, including a recent controversy over the origin of chicken used in Theborn Korea's chicken steak meal kit 'Ppakkuk.' In relation to this, CEO Baek issued an apology on the 19th, stating, "We will thoroughly inspect all product descriptions, including the origin labeling issue, and introduce a permanent monitoring system composed of external experts."