The police launched an investigation into the sanitation controversy surrounding the '2023 Hongseong Global Barbecue Festival' organized by Theborn Korea.
The Hongseong Police Station in South Chungcheong Province stated on 16th that they are verifying the facts regarding a report received by the National Police Agency that the organizing group transported raw meat in a van while leaving it at room temperature during the festival.
On the 14th, claims were raised in an online community that sanitation management at the Hongseong Barbecue Festival, which Theborn Korea was contracted to manage in November 2023, was inadequate. Internet users uploaded photos showing raw meat being transported in a regular van instead of a refrigerated vehicle.
The police said, "The transporting company for the raw meat appears to be a partner of Theborn Korea," adding, "We received the report the day before and plan to verify the facts primarily with the transporting company."
Allegations have also been raised in online communities that leftover meat from last year's event was left covered with plastic during the event, causing controversy.
The Yesan Police Station is also investigating allegations of land law violations by Theborn Korea. It has been alleged through the National Police Agency that the Baekseok factory of Theborn Korea produced food with imported soybeans, despite production facilities in agriculture promotion areas being required to use domestic agricultural products.
In response to the ongoing controversies, Theborn Korea announced the establishment of a dedicated audit organization and a public relations team the day before. Theborn Korea stated, "We have immediately activated a dedicated department to completely overhaul our food safety and sanitation management system, and we are restructuring all processes from the ground up with the support of external experts," and promised to strengthen safety certification procedures for all cooking equipment and food processing, while fully improving refrigerated and frozen transportation and storage facilities to implement a locally compliant safety standard.