An employee of Theborn Korea, led by CEO Baek Jong-won, has been accused of conducting a 'drinking interview' and making inappropriate remarks toward a female applicant. As the controversy grew, Theborn Korea stated that it has excluded the employee from work and is conducting a formal investigation.
On the 8th, Theborn Korea noted regarding recent allegations that Director General A had conducted a drinking interview with a female applicant, saying, "We are taking this matter very seriously," and "We will thoroughly investigate whether there are any illegalities through an external investigation agency and take strict measures."
Director General A summoned female applicant B under the pretense of a 'second interview' during the process of recruiting second store owners for the 'Yesan Permanent Market' project in Yesan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do. After submitting her documents and waiting for the results of her formal interview, B felt she had no choice but to attend the drinking gathering after being contacted by Director General A.
At the drinking gathering, Director General A reportedly showed a YouTube video featuring CEO Baek and made comments such as, "I helped the store owner who used to beg for things. All authority lies with me," and "I can arrange for you to meet CEO Baek directly."
He then continued with remarks like, "There was another drinking gathering, but I canceled it to come here, so please drink with me," "You look like you can drink well," and "You should be able to drink well." Additionally, he reportedly asked unrelated personal questions such as, "Don’t you have a boyfriend? It would be bad if you did."
After B was ultimately hired, the Director General made attempts at inappropriate physical contact with B at other drinking gatherings with different store owners. Additionally, he reportedly made several remarks such as, "Why aren't you drinking, lady? You should drink so we can have drinks after work."
Subsequently, B did not attend the drinking gatherings that the Director General demanded, claiming that this resulted in unfair treatment. B alleged that she was forced to change well-selling menus and move her restaurant from the front of the market to the inside. Ultimately, B closed her business while in debt. She stated that she wanted to inform CEO Baek about the issue, but it was impossible as all management of anticipated markets was handled by Director General A.
B expressed through the media, "I started with trust in CEO Baek, but the results were devastating," and added, "While it’s good that CEO Baek talks about revitalizing the local economy, there needs to be more supervision of what the employees are doing."