Photo = Yonhap news

 

 

[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Theborn Korea, led by CEO Baek Jong-won, announced on July 10 that it has ceased operations at its Baekseok factory in Yesan County, South Chungcheong Province, amid controversy over a potential violation of South Korea’s Farmland Act.



According to the company, production at the Baekseok facility officially ended in late June. “To ensure safer product manufacturing and more rigorous quality control, we have transferred production from the Baekseok factory to our main Yesan facility and certified partner manufacturers,” Theborn Korea said in a statement.



All employees previously working at the Baekseok site have been reassigned to the Yesan plant, where they continue their duties.



The Baekseok facility had faced scrutiny since March, when concerns were raised over its use of imported ingredients in soybean paste products produced within an agricultural promotion zone. Under South Korea’s Farmland Act, food manufacturing facilities located in designated agricultural promotion areas are required to use domestically produced agricultural and marine products as raw materials.



Theborn Korea stated that the decision to shut down Baekseok operations was driven by the difficulty of sourcing domestic soybeans and wheat, the core ingredients of fermented sauces, due to their low self-sufficiency rates in Korea.

 

 

 

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