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Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea. (Photo=JTBC) |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Baek Jong-won's The Born Korea, which had been writing an "invincible myth," is facing criticism following the controversy over the price and quality of 'Baek Ham' around the Lunar New Year holiday.
'Baek Ham' is a pressed ham launched by Baek a few years ago. During the recent Lunar New Year, Baek himself promoted 'Baek Ham gift sets' at a heavily discounted price. However, this led to controversy over the discounts still being considered "too expensive."
The 'Baek Ham,' which consists of nine 200g ham pieces, was priced at 51,900 won at regular price and 28,500 won at the discounted price, but many pointed out that this was still considered the highest price. Additionally, it was criticized for having the lowest pork content among similar products, excluding luncheon meat. Some speculated that the high regular price and large discount were part of a marketing strategy.
In response to the backlash, Baek defended his product on his YouTube channel on January 26, claiming that there was no deceptive marketing. He explained that as a latecomer in the market, the production cost was higher, leading to significant price differences. He further clarified that the pork content in 'Baek Ham' being lower than Spam by only 14g per 200g package didn't warrant cutting costs over such a small amount.
Meanwhile, on February 3, The Born Korea's stock closed at 29,800 won, marking a 2.30% drop compared to the previous trading day. Since its listing three months ago, the stock price has fallen by 72%, and this is the first time the stock price has dropped to the 20,000-won range since its November 6 listing.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
