Paik Jong-won deletes YouTube pledge to halt broadcasts after returning to TV
Paik Jong-won announces he will halt all broadcast activities in a video posted on his YouTube channel on May 6. Captured from his YouTube channel
Paik Jong-won, CEO of Theborn Korea and celebrity restaurateur, has made private the YouTube video in which he announced he would suspend all broadcast activities, prompting speculation that the move signals a clearer return to television.
The change comes six months after the video was posted and coincides with the release of new programs featuring Paik.
As of Monday, the video titled “I will start again from the beginning,” uploaded in May on Paik’s personal YouTube channel, is no longer publicly viewable.
In the original video, Paik said he would suspend all broadcasting activities except for shows already in production. “From now on, I will focus all my passion and energy on the growth of Theborn Korea as a businessman, not a television personality.”
At the time, Theborn Korea was under intense scrutiny following controversies over its “Baekham gift set” pricing, alleged farmland law violations and origin-labeling errors. Paik announced his hiatus to concentrate on stabilizing the company.
However, Paik returned to television on Nov. 17 with the release of MBC’s new variety program “Chef of Antarctica,” which follows Paik and other cast members visiting the King Sejong Station in Antarctica as honorary crew to prepare hot meals for researchers.
The program was originally planned for April but was delayed in scheduling. Paik is also set to appear as a judge on Season 2 of the Netflix reality show “Culinary Class Wars,” which premieres Dec. 16.
These developments have led to speculation that Paik set the hiatus video to private to signal a full resumption of broadcast activities.
Theborn Korea, however, said the removal was part of a broader restructuring of Paik’s YouTube channel. The channel announced on Oct. 31 that it would begin reorganizing its starting Nov. 3 to offer “richer content.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.