"Not a Broadcast for a Specific Person" Stance... Franchise Owners Urge Withdrawal of Baek Jong-won's Return at Press Conference Announcement

Baek Jong-won is facing a press conference announcement from franchise owners ahead of the broadcast of the program he appeared in.

The National Franchise Owners Council, Yeon-don Volcarts Franchise Owners Council, and the Participatory Solidarity's Hope for Livelihood Headquarters have announced a press conference to demand the withdrawal of MBC's entertainment program 〈Chef of Antarctica〉. They plan to demand the withdrawal of the program featuring Baek Jong-won, the CEO of The Born Korea, in front of MBC's new building on November 11 at 1 PM.

〈Chef of Antarctica〉 is a program featuring Baek Jong-won, Lim Soo-hyang, Suho, and Chae Jong-hyeop, capturing their time as part of the Antarctic King Sejong Scientific Research Station. Although the program's broadcast was delayed due to various controversies surrounding Baek Jong-won, it has been scheduled to premiere on November 17. The responsible PD, Hwang Soon-kyu, explained, "〈Chef of Antarctica〉 is not a 'cooking show' where the participants are the main characters."

In response, the aforementioned groups announced a press conference stating, "Forcing a return to broadcasting without resolving the structural issues of the franchise business contradicts the public interest of public broadcasting." They pointed out that despite issues such as excessive multi-brand expansion, false and exaggerated sales presentations, overcrowding in the same industry, and unreasonable business area settings, CEO Baek Jong-won has avoided social responsibility by not attending the National Assembly's audit and failing to properly clarify the suspicions. They explained that despite requesting MBC to withhold the broadcast or delete the segments featuring CEO Baek Jong-won, they were compelled to hold a press conference as the broadcast was pushed through.