At the opening ceremony of the 19th Chungbuk Disabled People's Sports Festival, Mayor Jo Gil-hyung of Chungju, Chungbuk, noted on the 28th that he would "clearly identify the issues in the lunchbox supply process and establish measures to prevent recurrence in the future" regarding the 'substandard lunchboxes' distributed.
During a recent briefing on current issues, Mayor Jo said, "This is too heartbreaking to simply call a blemish," adding, "The damage to the image of Chungju and local merchants is too significant to view it merely as a mistake by one company." He also stated, "We will thoroughly investigate whether there was any negligence in the process of recommending companies by the Disabled Sports Association through the audit department."
Chungju City has decided to strengthen prior inspections by conducting a joint meeting with the related industries, such as dining, snack bars, and accommodation, ahead of the 64th Chungbuk Provincial Sports Festival, which will be held from the 8th to the 10th of next month.
At the Chungju Hoam Gymnasium, where the opening ceremony of the Disabled People's Sports Festival was held on the 24th, the lunchboxes provided to some teams came under scrutiny. Each lunchbox, priced at 12,000 won, included only a few sheets of seasoned seaweed, green chili peppers, kimchi, and pickled perilla leaves, leading to complaints about the inadequate portion. The local company that supplied these lunchboxes explained that they were unprepared due to a surge in orders.