[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] Ottogi and Noodlelovers, the company's OEM company, were confirmed to have filed an administrative lawsuit against Oh Young-joo, the Minister of SMEs and Startups.

Ottogi claims that the Ministry of SMEs and Startups illegally suspended transactions with Noodlelovers and intends to seek court judgment.

Ottogi and Noodlelovers are 'relative companies', and Noodlelovers has been supplying noodles to Ottogi for about 30 years. Jeong Se-jang, CEO of Noodlelovers, is the eldest son-in-law of the late honorary chairman Ham Tae-ho, the founder of Ottogi, and the brother-in-law of Ham Young-joon, chairman of Ottogi.

Ottogi applied for approval from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to expand its business for businesses suitable for living in order to continue trading as Noodlelovers, a small and medium-sized company, has been classified as a mid-sized company since April last year.

As the noodle and cold noodle manufacturing industries are designated as suitable for living, large and medium-sized companies cannot start new businesses or expand their businesses in this field.

Ottogi and Noodlelovers say the transactions have lasted for the past 30 years and are not newly entering or expanding the business, but the Ministry of SMEs and Startups has notified them of their disposition to suspend business-to-business transactions altogether.

"This is an illegal measure that violates our business rights," an Ottogi official said. "If we temporarily suspend the transaction with a client that has been supplying high-quality food for decades, it will cause serious damages such as a decrease in sales and profits, a decrease in industry share and credibility. Therefore, we have filed an administrative lawsuit and applied for suspension of execution."

 

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