Home > Business > Industry

Theborn Korea accused of cooking with foreign soybeans

Published: 28 Aug. 2025, 21:46

Theborn Korea's headquarters in Gangnam District, southern Seoul [NEWS1]

Police have referred external dining conglomerate Theborn Korea to prosecutors following an investigation into suspected violations of farmland and food safety laws.

The South Chungcheong Police Agency said Thursday that it had forwarded Theborn Korea, along with officials from the company and its Baekseok Factory, to prosecutors without detention. The charges include violations of the Farmland Act and the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act.

Theborn Korea, led by founder Paik Jong-won, is accused of producing and selling doenjang (fermented soybean paste) at its Baekseok Factory in Yesan County, South Chungcheong, using foreign ingredients — including Chinese fermented soybean blocks and soybeans from the United States, Canada and Australia — from September 2016 through March.

The company also registered two greenhouses near the factory as fixed-use agricultural facilities, but allegedly used them as storage for raw materials, violating the Farmland Act.

The area where the factory is located is a protected agricultural development zone, where food processing or handling facilities are generally prohibited. Exceptions are allowed only when the facility uses domestically grown agricultural products.

Following administrative orders from Yesan County, Theborn Korea dismantled the greenhouses in December last year and shut down operations at the Baekseok Factory in June.

Theborn Korea CEO Paik Jong-won attends a press conference at Space Share Gangnam in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on March 28. [YONHAP]

The company also allegedly breached the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act during a barbecue festival held in Hongseong County, South Chungcheong, in November 2023. Police said the company transported pork in an unrefrigerated truck exposed to ambient temperatures.

However, police threw out other allegations that the company violated the Food Sanitation Act by spraying sauce on meat using pesticide sprayers and using unscreened barbecue grills at a festival in Yesan County.

“It is illegal under the Food Sanitation Act to sell unauthorized cooking equipment,” said a police official. “However, there is no law that prohibits simply using such equipment. Since Theborn Korea did not sell either the sprayer or the barbecue grill as cooking tools, it is not subject to criminal charges.”

In a separate case, police also closed an investigation into a high school cafeteria run by Yeduk Academy, where Paik serves on the board, which was reported for violating the Mountainous Districts Management Act. The cafeteria had been built on forest land without proper approval, but the five-year statute of limitations for illegal use had expired.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]