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Korea Herald
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Fall & fight of star chef Paik Jong-won in 2 minutes
Albeit not Michelin-starred, Korean restaurateur and celebrity chef Paik Jong-won is arguably the country's most famous culinary figure. Known for his easy-to-follow cooking, built on humor and pragmatism, he has become something of a national uncle, always ready with foolproof recipes. But this year marks a turning point in his uphill career, as he faces a string of setbacks and mounting scrutiny, gradually stepping out of the frame after more than a decade in the media spotlight. Who is Paik Jong-won? Korea's best-known celebrity chef and restaurateur Built a food empire with Theborn Korea (3,000+ stores, 25 brands) Gained fame for easy, practical cooking on television and online platforms Often dubbed Korea's 'national uncle chef' From stardom to scrutiny Rose to fame via hits like MBC's "My Little Television" and Netflix's "Culinary Class Wars" Took TheBorn Korea public in late 2024 — stock spiked, then halved Backlash & controversies Criticized for low pork content in Paik Ham Tangerine beer under fire for weak fruit content Safety missteps: LPG gas near stove, microwaving plastic, using pesticide bottle for sauce Ingredient mislabeling and franchise hygiene issues Accused of meddling in show casting, inappropriate interview practices 14 ongoing police investigations related to food safety and labeling violations Paik steps back Announced hiatus from media to address internal issues Apologized to public and franchisees Launched emergency measures: 30 billion won ($22 million) support fund 3-month royalty suspension Full safety and compliance review What's next? minmin@
Korea Herald
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Food mogul ceases TV appearances after disputes
Police investigate false advertisement claims related to Paik Jong-won, latest in controversies involving his culinary empire Paik Jong-won, a businessperson and TV celebrity considered one of the most influential figures in the local food industry, on Tuesday issued a public apology and announced that he is discontinuing his TV appearance following a string of controversies. The news comes as Seoul Gangnam Police Station revealed that he is under investigation for allegations that the food and beverage company TheBorn Korea posted the imported ingredients used for its porridge as domestically sources when they were not. Paik is TheBorn Korea's founder and largest shareholder. The company is already under probe for other suspicions such as misleading consumers over the origin of ingredients in other products. "I will stop making appearances on all (TV) programs except for the one I'm filming right now... I will focus all my efforts and strength on TheBorn Korea, as an entrepreneur, not a TV personality," Paik said a video message posted on his official YouTube channel. TheBorn Koream, which operates multiple restaurant and cafe franchises, is accused of breaking several laws particularly related to food and livestock sanitation. The latter involves an allegation that the company broke the law by not refrigerating the meat used at a local festival. Paik, 58, said he is to be held accountable for all the accusations related to quality and hygiene issues of the company's products, and plans to launch an additional large-scale subsidy program for the store owners sometime next week. Last week, Paik pledged 5 billion won ($3.59 million) to help franchise owners hit by the recent controversy, including exempting them from royalty fees for three months. He indirectly addressed the recent suspicion that he abused his influence while appearing in MBC's "My Little Television," allegedly making unreasonable demands such as requesting certain personnel to be a part of the show. Paik did not specify whether or not him stepping away from the media includes the second season of the popular Netflix show "Culinary Class Wars," which is slated to hit the streamer during the second half of his year and reportedly started shooting in late March. Myriad of suspicions bring down once-beloved 'celebrity chef' Despite never having actually worked as a chef at a restaurant, Paik had earned a reputation for being an approachable and humble celebrity chef by providing solutions for struggling small eateries and sharing easy-to-follow recipes to viewers in his TV programs. But a series of alleged irregularities involving TheBorn Korea's operations have hit his image as a likeable celebrity hard. Last month, it was reported that an official of Paik's company summoned a female candidate for a job to a bar, during which, said official asked personal questions and engaged in inappropriate physical contact with her. The case is under investigation by the Ministry of Employment and Labor In March, police launched an investigation into a claim that the company had reported a makeshift structure in South Chungcheong as a farming greenhouse, but actually used it as a storage unit. In the same month, police started looking into another claim that Yesan High School -- of which Paik is the board chair -- violated the law related to the operation of its cafeteria. In 2023, Paik was accused of using a pesticide sprayer to put sauce on the barbecue at a local food festival in Hongseong-gun, South Chungcheong Province, although the company maintained that it had abided by the Food Sanitation Act. The county authorities ultimately decided not to punish the act, saying no harmful substances were found in their inspection. Nonillegal allegations include the low pork content in Paik Ham -- despite being more expensive than the market price of other ham products of the same size -- and his tangerine beer being found to have much-lower tangerine content than other similar products of the market. The severe public backlash over Paik has been largely related to the fact that he had frequently stressed the importance of using home-grown food ingredients in his promotional videos or TV appearances, when it was revealed that his company used imported goods in at least some of the products. For instance, it was recently unearthed that the company's meal kits use chicken imported from Brazil, although he nor the company never actually claimed that the product used domestically sourced ingredients. But Paik did say that he wanted to help the local agricultural and livestock industry sell their products in the promotional video for the meal kits uploaded on YouTube, leading many consumers to feel Paik skirted the law and misled them. Despite the series of police and government investigations surrounding the operations of TheBorn Korea and Paik's activities, neither he nor the company has been convicted of any crime as of yet. But the suspicions surrounding the man who had frequently stressed the importance of quality and local ingredients in the food industry have resulted in him falling off of his pedestal, at least in the eyes of the public.
Malay Mail
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Celebrity chef Paik Jong-won faces firestorm of controversy — but the cameras keep rolling
SEOUL, May 1 — South Korea's culinary kingpin Paik Jong-won may be battling a storm of allegations, but his TV career isn't slowing down. The celebrity chef — known for his no-nonsense kitchen persona on Netflix's Culinary Class Wars and owner of over two dozen food franchises — is under scrutiny for everything from mislabelled food products to alleged power trips behind the scenes. The biggest fire Paik's trying to put out? Accusations that his company, Theborn Korea, violated country-of-origin labelling laws. The issue surrounds Paik-seok doenjang, a fermented soybean paste reportedly advertised as locally made but allegedly containing Chinese ingredients. That could spell serious trouble under South Korea's strict origin labelling act, with penalties of up to seven years behind bars or a 100 million won (RM302,068) fine. It doesn't end there. Theborn Korea is also accused of producing the paste in an agricultural promotion zone where imported ingredients are a big no-no. Add to that complaints over barely-there pork in its ham products and a tangerine beer that apparently forgot the tangerines, and the chef's empire is starting to feel the heat. But it's not just food scandals that have Paik on the ropes. An old YouTube video from May 2024 resurfaced recently, showing a gas canister dangerously close to a brazier in an indoor kitchen — a clear violation of safety laws that could bring another fine of up to 40 million won. The chef's conduct off the stove is also being questioned. On April 21, former TV producer Kim Jae-hwan reignited a years-old spark by accusing Paik of overstepping on the 2015 reality show My Little Television. In a YouTube video, Kim claimed Paik insisted on his own filming crew and writers, disrupting the show's creative chemistry. 'This undermines the chemistry between the producer and the filming team, which is essential to the atmosphere of the show,' Kim said. 'If the filming team is only trying to please Paik, the on-set authority naturally shifts to him.' Kim also alleged that Paik had the power to boot cast members he didn't like. 'Most stars are cautious when it comes to staff issues — but Paik was different. Once word got out that he had a close relationship with the TV executives, he got his way,' he added. Still, not everyone's backing Kim's account. Another producer from My Little Television told Hankook Ilbo that no such abuse occurred on their watch, and that Paik and the crew worked hard to make the show a success. Despite the swirling drama, Paik's face is still a fixture on screens. He's confirmed to return in the second season of Culinary Class Wars, with filming already underway. He's also slated for another round of The Genius Paik on tvN, where he takes Korean cuisine to unexpected corners of the globe. And if that's not enough, his upcoming series Chef of Antarctica is still on track for release this year.
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Netflix reveals fate of hit cooking show as judge is embroiled in controversy
Netflix competition show Culinary Class Wars is reportedly set to return later this year despite judge Paik Jong-won being accused of workplace bullying and violating food regulations. On Tuesday, news broke that the 58-year-old entrepreneur had been reported to authorities for allegedly breaching country-of-origin labelling laws for food products. It comes after a soybean paste produced by his company, Theborn Korea, was marketed as a domestically made product despite using imported ingredients. According to The Star, Jong-won's business is also accused of violating the Farmland Act after allegedly producing the soybean paste in an agricultural promotion zone in South Korea, where making products with foreign raw materials is illegal. Additionally, Jong-won was accused of abuse of power by former MBC producer Kim Jae-hwan in a scathing YouTube video last week. Jae-hwan, who had worked with the television personality on the popular show My Little Television, said that the star made increasingly excessive demands of broadcasters, including pushing for his preferred writer and production teams to be hired. He also alleged in the video, titled Can Paik Jong-won recover?, that individuals Jong-won disliked were quietly removed from broadcasts. Not all employees felt the same, however, with one anonymous source telling The Korea Times that their experience was different. Speaking of Jong-won, they said: 'He worked with staff he met for the first time on set.' According to The Chosun, Jong-won publicly apologized to his company's shareholders during their annual general meeting on March 28. 'I sincerely apologize for not managing the company more thoroughly as a CEO,' he's reported to have said. He also vowed that Theborn Korea is 'reassessing internal systems from the ground up' and that the company 'will enhance our ingredient origin management and work with external experts to establish an effective internal monitoring system.' He added: 'We plan to improve our menus and services and implement a new ingredient information disclosure system to restore customer trust.' Culinary Class Wars follows 100 elite chefs divided into two classes: white spoons (veterans) and black spoons (newcomers) as they compete for the prize of 300 million won ($210,000). Veteran restaurateur and celebrity chef Jong-won serves as a judge alongside the only Michelin three-star chef in Korea, Anh Sung-jae. The wildly popular unscripted Korean show topped the platform's global mon-English series list for three consecutive weeks after its launch last September. Netflix announced in December that it was actively recruiting for participants for Culinary Class Wars' second season after the series premiere became an instant hit in September 2024. An advert posted on the streamer's website read: 'Open to everyone, regardless of nationality or where you reside, the show's only requirement is confidence in your cooking skills. 'If you believe in the power of your flavors, you can apply now by filling out this form.' has contacted Netflix for comment. Elsewhere, MBC announced earlier this month that there would be a delay to the release of Chef of Antarctica, a new show which sees Jong-won prepare meals for researches in the South Pole. The show was initially set to air this month and sparked rumors of indefinite postponement, until MBC clarified the delay. 'The broadcast schedule was adjusted due to breaking news coverage and the early election period,' they told The Star. 'The exact airing date will be announced once it is finalized.'
CNA
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
Netflix's Culinary Class Wars judge Paik Jong-won accused of power abuse and food code violations
Paik Jong-won, judge on Netflix series Culinary Class Wars and owner of 26 restaurant franchises, including Paik's Coffee, Paik's Bibim and Bornga, is facing a string of controversies from alleged abuses of power to food code violations that began in late January this year. In the celebrity chef's most serious allegation, Paik was accused for violating country-of-origin labelling laws in its Paik-seok doenjang, a soya bean paste produced by Theborn Korea, an F&B company he founded, that was advertised as domestically made but allegedly contained Chinese fermented paste. Theborn Korea has also been accused of violating the Farmland Act by manufacturing Paik-seok doenjang in an agricultural promotion zone, where using foreign raw materials in production is prohibited. Paik could face up to seven years in prison or be fined up to 100 million won (US$70,000) under Korea's Act on Origin Labeling for Agricultural and Fishery Products should he be charged with falsely advertising the origin of ingredients. Other accusations about product quality include low pork content in Theborn Korea's ham and minimal tangerine used in a tangerine beer launched by Theborn Korea's affiliate franchise Yeondon Ball Katsu. This backlash has caused Paik's past controversies to resurface as well, including a video uploaded to Paik's YouTube Channel in May 2024, where it showed an indoor liquefied petroleum gas canister near a brazier in an indoor kitchen, violating the Safety Control and Business of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act. This could lead to fines of up to 40 million KRW under the act. In his most recent controversy, on Apr 21 this year, former TV producer Kim Jae-hwan accused Paik of abusing his power towards staff on the 2015 live competition show My Little Television. In a YouTube video, the former producer said: 'Paik gradually began making unreasonable demands on the broadcasting company, insisting that only his designated writers and filming teams be included in the programme. "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 alleged that behind the scenes, Paik would remove cast members he did not like, which producers had to apologise for on behalf of the chef. 'Most stars are cautious when it comes to staff issues – but Paik was different. Once word got out that he had a close relationship with the TV executives, he got his way,' the former producer added. But not all of Paik's staff share the same sentiment. Another producer from My Little Television told South Korean newspaper Hankook Ilbo that there was no abuse of power when they worked together and that both the crew and Paik had put in significant effort to ensure the show's success. Despite the backlash, Paik is still scheduled to appear in the second season of Netflix's Culinary Class Wars, with filming reportedly already underway, as well as in the third season of South Korean TV network tvN's The Genius Paik, where he opens Korean restaurants in foreign countries where few people know his name or Korean cuisine.
