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, said on Tuesday (May 6) that he would be halting all TV appearances except for programmes he is currently filming, and focusing entirely on his franchise business Theborn Korea.
The announcement comes amid the string of controversies the celebrity chef is facing, from alleged abuses of power to food code violations that began in late January this year.
In a five-minute apology uploaded onto Paik’s Youtube channel on Tuesday, he said in Korean: “We have apologised in writing at the general shareholders’ meeting for the many issues and concerns that have been raised over a long period of time. But today, I would like to bow my head and speak directly to you through this video.
“I had some time for deep reflection and have been looking at and reorganising the entire organisation in relation to various issues in the company and now I’m finally here,” he said.
Paik added that he and his team were working to identify the root causes of all issues, including food quality, safety and festival hygiene to make improvements one by one.
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.
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.
“All the problems are my fault,” admitted South Korea’s most prominent celebrity chef-businessman.
Paik also addressed the allegations of his power abuse on staff.
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. Kim said that Paik began “making unreasonable demands” and “insisted that only his designated writers and filming teams be included in the programme”.
He also 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.
Paik said in his apology: “I am well aware that there have been concerns about my concurrent broadcasting activities as a representative of a listed company, and that there have even been recent reports of a fearsome desire to bully others. This is also my fault. I am also taking seriously the intentions of those who criticise.
“If our words or actions hurt someone in the process of creating good broadcast content, it is my responsibility and my fault. I should have been more humble as I received so much love. I bow my head in apology.”
The celebrity chef-businessman added: “From now on, I will stop broadcasting activities except for the programmes I am currently filming.
“Now, as Paik Jong-won, a businessman and not a broadcaster, I will focus all my passion and energy on the growth of Theborn Korea and the development of our store owners. We will do our best to restore trust in the company and help it expand into the global stage.”
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. His upcoming show Chef Of Antarctica is also set for release this year.
“I would like to once again apologise to everyone who was disappointed in me,” Paik said.
“I vividly remember the excitement I felt the day I first opened my own small shop and the heavy sense of responsibility I felt on the first day of Theborn Korea listing. With that original intention engraved in my heart, I will once again start from the beginning, looking only at the store owners, shareholders and customers.”
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