KOREA: According to New Straits Times, Paik Jong-won, a Korean celebrity chef and food-and-beverage mogul has run into problems, accused of workplace abuse and violations of food regulations. Paik, 58, is known for his Netflix show, “Culinary Class Wars”, and his culinary empire.
He has been reported to authorities for alleged breaches of country-of-origin labelling laws. His company, Theborn Korea, allegedly put wrong labels on its soybean paste, making it seem local when it actually used imported stuff.
Breaking the law
Theborn Korea is also being probed for allegedly making the soybean paste in a protected farming zone. Companies are not supposed to use ingredients from overseas in those areas. That is against the law.
The chef’s culinary offerings are also in trouble. His range of canned ham or luncheon meat contains less meat but is priced higher than the industry leader, Spam. His tangerine beer has also stirred controversy for its purportedly minimal tangerine content.
Other than food-related problems, a possible safety breach has been brought to light by a revived YouTube video.
Violation of gas safety laws
Netizens pointed out that in an old video, he had a gas cylinder way too close to an open brazier in his test kitchen.
Apparently, that’s a violation of South Korea’s gas safety laws and could result in hefty penalties.
The issues go beyond just regulatory matters. A former producer from the South Korean broadcaster MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation) has recently accused Paik of workplace power abuse during his time on the variety series, My Little Television (which aired from 2015 to 2017).
Workplace issues
The former producer, Kim Jae-hwan, went on YouTube and said that the chef was really particular about who he worked with. Apparently, he insisted on personally choosing all the writers and the filming crew.
He exerted influence to remove cast members he disliked, forcing producers to apologise to those affected.
Someone came to Paik’s defence — a TV director who formerly collaborated with him. In an interview with South Korean media outlet Korea Economic Daily, the director shared that there was no misconduct during their professional relationship.
Despite his problems, Paik is still a pretty big deal in the South Korean entertainment world. He’s apparently got quite a few projects still in the works. Netflix declined to comment on Paik’s continued involvement in “Culinary Class Wars”. The chef is slated to appear in the second season.
Paik will also appear in the third season of The Genius Paik, a reality show on tvN, in which he guides a group of famous people in running a restaurant overseas.
There was a picture going around online on April 27, supposedly showing Paik filming his new show in France. But the TV station, tvN, hasn’t actually said if he’s really part of it.
Postponed show
It looks like all the recent talk has had an effect. Paik’s new programme, “Chef Of Antarctica”, where he cooks for researchers down at the South Pole, has been postponed by MBC.
“Chef of Antarctica” also features Suho from Exo. It was slated to premiere in April. Filming for the show concluded by the end of 2024.
Korean TV station MBC denied rumours that Paik’s controversies are the reason for the delay. The TV station attributed it to the special news broadcasts and upcoming South Korean presidential election.