It has been confirmed that The Born Korea, operated by restaurateur Paik Jong-won, has shut down its controversial Baekseok factory at the end of last month.
The Born Korea released an official statement on the 10th, saying, "For the sake of safe product production and quality control, we have transferred the production functions of the Baekseok factory to the Yesan factory and cooperating manufacturers, and ceased operations of the Baekseok factory at the end of June." It was added, "The employees of the Baekseok factory have been reassigned and are currently working at the Yesan factory."
The Baekseok factory, located in the agricultural promotion zone of Yesan, South Chungcheong, was criticized in March for violating the Farmland Law by producing soybean paste products using imported raw materials. The Born Korea sincerely apologized, stating, "We sincerely apologize for using imported raw materials without fully understanding the regulations."
The Farmland Law stipulates that only domestic agricultural and marine products can be used as raw materials for food production within facilities in agricultural promotion zones.
Separately, the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service's special judicial police reported The Born Korea to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office on the 4th for alleged violations of the Country of Origin Labeling Law. According to a CBS report, some ingredients in "Paik Jong-won's Baekseok Soybean Paste" and "Hanshin Pocha Stir-fried Octopus" were falsely labeled as domestic.
The South Chungcheong Provincial Police Agency is currently investigating nine charges, including violations of the Farmland Law.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)