Baek Jong-won Engages in 4-Hour and 30-Minute Conversation with Kim Jae-hwan, Who Exposed His Misconduct

Baek Jong-won, the CEO of The Born Korea, met with Kim Jae-hwan, a former MBC PD who raised allegations of his misconduct.

On the 8th, a video titled "4 Hours and 30 Minutes, Did We Have a One-on-One Conversation with CEO Baek Jong-won?" was uploaded on the YouTube channel 'Studio Ojaena'.

In the video, PD Kim Jae-hwan directly met Baek Jong-won as he returned from filming tvN's "Genius Barista Baek" in France.

As Baek Jong-won entered pushing a cart with his suitcase, he smiled kindly and greeted PD Kim with, "Hello. Did you film well?"

When introduced as the PD of 'True Gourmet Show', he responded with a cheerful "Oh~", then asked, "But why are you making things difficult for me? Do you have some kind of grudge against me? Why is that?"

To this, Kim PD replied, "How could I have a grudge?" Baek Jong-won then expressed his frustration, saying, "I used to really like 'True Gourmet Show'. I have a lot of grievances too. But until now, I haven’t reacted at all."

When Kim PD mentioned the restaurant owners and how wronged they must feel due to various controversies surrounding him, Baek Jong-won countered, "Why are you bringing up the restaurant owners?"

In response to Kim's question, "Is it not a problem to portray people as villains in 'Grocery Restaurant' over hygiene issues and such?", Baek Jong-won answered, "Oh, you can't say that. I've never been inhumanly harsh to the restaurant owners on 'Grocery Restaurant'. I just clearly state when something is wrong."

Conversation Continued Off-Camera

After the camera and microphone were turned off, the filming was stopped. However, the conversation continued to be recorded through a recorder Kim PD had brought, unbeknownst to Baek Jong-won.

In the recorded audio, Baek Jong-won said, "I've lived sincerely until now," and proposed, "Call me tomorrow. Let's meet one-on-one without cameras."

Following this proposal, on the next day, the 4th, Kim PD met with Baek Jong-won at his company, where they talked for 4 hours and 30 minutes.

Kim PD noted, "We have very different perspectives on some issues, so we discussed and clashed on our thoughts. There were areas where I had some misunderstandings, and he tried to clarify them, and I listened."

He announced that he would share the contents of his interview with Baek Jong-won on the 12th, attracting significant public interest.

In the preview, Baek Jong-won denied the allegations of misconduct, responding to the question of whether he had ever called to cut someone from the cast with, "How can I cut someone? I'm still meeting with restaurant owners to develop new menus."

Previously, PD Kim Jae-hwan raised allegations of misconduct through the YouTube channel '45 Plus', pointing out a change in Baek Jong-won's attitude after 'My Little Television'.

He claimed that Baek Jong-won pressured the broadcasting company to send the writer team and filming team he designated, and he exhibited behaviors such as dismissing cast members he did not like.

Kim emphasized, "While cooperation between the PD and filming team is essential, if the team brought by Baek Jong-won only caters to his mood, it will centralize power in the field around him."

He also stated that people who did not meet Baek Jong-won's approval ended up being dismissed from the broadcast.

Meanwhile, The Born Korea led by Baek Jong-won has been embroiled in several controversies, starting with the pricing scandal of the 'BAEKHAM Gift Set', allegations of violating the Agriculture Land Act related to 'Baekseok Doenjang', false labeling of origin, violations of the Food Sanitation Act, accusations of an employee blacklist, and the controversy over interview practices involving alcohol. Baek Jong-won's side has issued two apologies and publicly bowed in a regular shareholders' meeting.

The recent controversies surrounding Baek Jong-won are impacting his image as a broadcaster, going beyond simple corporate management issues.

In particular, this meeting with PD Kim Jae-hwan appears to be a significant opportunity to ascertain Baek Jong-won's stance regarding the allegations against him.

YouTube 'Studio Ojaena'

Image source: youtube 'Studio Ojaena', The Born Mall website screenshot.