South Korea's 61st Baeksang Arts Awards ceremony came to a successful conclusion on Monday (May 5). The cooking program "Chef Black and White: Cooking Class Competition" that swept the world last year won the broadcasting category award. According to the latest news, South Korean celebrity chef Baek Jong-won, who served as a judge on the show, announced on Tuesday (May 5) that he would temporarily retire from the entertainment industry, sending a bombshell to the industry.
Bai Zhongyuan has been involved in a number of controversies recently, including four controversies such as alleged false labeling of products sold and abuse of power to interfere with program production, which have dealt a heavy blow to the fresh and professional image he has built over the years. On Tuesday, he personally explained through a video that he would take full responsibility and decided to step down as an artist. "From now on, I will no longer be active as an artist, but as an entrepreneur Baek Jong-won, and will devote all my passion and strength to the growth of Theborn Korea."
In the film, Bai Zhongyuan is wearing a plain brown shirt and expressing his apologies and reflections to the outside world with a heavy expression. He pointed out that the programs that have been filmed will still be broadcast as usual, but all performing activities will be suspended in the future.
Baek Jong-won's popularity soared due to his participation in the judging of "Chef Black and White". The program not only swept the ratings and topics at home and abroad, but also won the highest honor in the broadcasting department of the Baeksang Arts Awards. Previously, it was reported that "Chef 2" was scheduled to be released in October, but after the recent controversy broke out, the official suddenly changed its position and changed its tone on April 10, saying that "Chef 4 is not expected to be released in October, and there is no specific plan for the second half of 28." Netflix expressed reservations about whether Bai Zhongyuan would continue to be a judge for the second season, and only responded briefly: "We cannot disclose the details of Bai Zhongyuan's filming schedule. Please understand."
Despite the ongoing controversy, Bai Zhongyuan's work is ongoing. On April 4, some netizens spotted him in France, where he was filming the overseas special for "Business Genius Baek 27". He was wearing a black apron, concentrating on preparing ingredients in the kitchen. Although his brows were furrowed and he looked a little tired, he was still working.
White Yuan Controversy Lazy Bag
Bai Zhongyuan, who entered the international stage last year with "Chef", has been involved in a series of controversies since the beginning of this year, and his image has been completely ruined overnight. First of all, its subsidiary "The Born Korea" was involved in many product mislabeling and quality disputes; for example, the pork content of "white ham" was too low, which was inconsistent with the claim, the citrus content of "citrus beer" was insufficient, and the fried octopus was advertised to use Korean garlic, but actually used Chinese garlic; some products such as Korean paste and spicy fried squid were labeled as "made in Korea", but the actual raw materials came from China, the United States, Canada and Australia.
At the same time, he was also exposed by former MBC program producer Kim Jae-hwan on the YouTube channel "45 Plus", accusing him of interfering in program production, forcibly appointing screenwriters and photography teams, constituting "power bullying", making it difficult for directors to perform freely.
The series of turmoil has caused a substantial impact on Bai Zhongyuan's career. In addition to the indefinite postponement of "Black and White Chef 2", the variety show "Chef in Antarctica" originally scheduled to be broadcast in April has also been announced to be postponed indefinitely. Although the TV station claimed that the delay was due to news specials and the election period, the outside world generally believed that it was related to the negative news about Bai Zhongyuan.
