'Culinary Class Wars' star Paik Jong-won faces mounting controversies amid business, TV uncertainty

Korea Herald

28-04-2025

Star entrepreneur mired in troubles ranging from abuse of power to food code violations
Paik Jong-won, the star of "Culinary Class Wars" and a powerhouse in the Korean food industry, faces an uncertain future in both his business and television series, amid mounting controversies ranging from workplace abuses of power to violations of food-related regulations.
Paik was recently reported to authorities for allegedly breaching country-of-origin labeling laws for food products. Specifically, Paik-seok doenjang, a soybean paste produced by Theborn Korea, was marketed as a domestically produced product despite being made with imported ingredients.
Theborn Korea, Paik's food and beverages company, is also accused of violating the Farmland Act by producing Paik-seok doenjang in an agricultural promotion zone where making products with foreign raw materials is prohibited.
Paik faces criticism over two other issues: low pork content in the Paik ham and insufficient tangerine content in a tangerine beer. Additionally, it was discovered that an indoor liquefied petroleum gas cylinder was being used in a space where chicken was cooked, violating safety regulations. This could lead to fines of up to 40 million won ($27,800) under the Safety Control and Business of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act.
Adding fuel to the fire, a former MBC producer recently accused Paik of abusing his power during his time on "My Little Television" by making unreasonable demands and undermining the show's production.
In a YouTube video, former producer Kim Jae-hwan said, "Paik gradually began making unreasonable demands on the broadcasting company, insisting that only his designated writers and filming teams be included in the program. This undermines the chemistry between the producer and the filming team, which is essential to the atmosphere of the show. If the filming team is only trying to please Paik, the on-set authority naturally shifts to him."
Kim further alleged that Paik pushed out cast members he disliked, with producers having to personally apologize to those who were removed. However, a director who previously worked with Paik downplayed the claims, telling local media outlet the Korea Economic Daily that no misconduct had occurred during their collaboration.
Despite the mounting controversies, Paik remains a fixture in the Korean entertainment landscape, with multiple projects in the works. He is scheduled to appear in the second season of Netflix's "Culinary Class Wars," with filming reportedly already underway. Netflix declined to comment on his involvement amid the ongoing controversies.
Additionally, Paik is set to appear in the third season of tvN's "The Genius Paik," a reality series where he runs a restaurant in a region where Korean cuisine is virtually unknown. An online post Sunday pointed to Paik filming the new season in France, with a photo of him slicing meat in the kitchen and the "The Genius Paik" logo faintly visible on his uniform. As of press time, tvN has not commented on his participation in the program.
Meanwhile, MBC announced on April 14 that it would delay the airing of "Chef of Antarctica," a show featuring Paik preparing meals for members of an Antarctic overwintering team.
Although filming wrapped at the end of last year and the show was initially set to air this month, MBC cited schedule adjustments due to special news broadcasts and the early presidential election season as reasons for the delay. The network denied speculation that the delay was connected to Paik's ongoing troubles.