Theborn's Yeondon franchisees filed an FTC complaint over promised sales ahead of its IPO

In June 2024, with Theborn Korea — the restaurant empire of celebrity chef Paik Jong-won — in its second attempt to list on Kosdaq after a 2018 failure, eight franchisees of its Yeondon Ball Katsu tonkatsu takeout brand protested outside the company's southern Seoul office, joined by the Korea Franchise Union. They said their stores never reached the figures Paik promised before they opened: monthly sales of at least 30 million won, operating margins of 20 to 25 percent, and cost rates of 36 to 40 percent.

The reality, they said, was sales around half the promise, margins of 7 to 8 percent, and cost rates above 45 percent — leaving 'barely any profit' after rent, maintenance and delivery fees. They took the case to the Fair Trade Commission, whose own data showed Yeondon Ball Katsu stores averaging 260 million won in annual sales in 2022 and 157 million won in 2023 — monthly profit closer to 1 million won.

Theborn Korea, through law firm Barun Law, called the claims untrue: it said it had suggested a 17-million-won monthly sales prediction for 2022, that actual average monthly sales that year exceeded 21 million won, and that it cut supply costs 15 to 25 percent between 2022 and 2023. But the brand's store count had fallen from more than 80 to fewer than 30. A Mirae Asset Securities analyst said a lawsuit or public noise could delay the IPO qualification assessment; a Korea Exchange expert called a public antitrust movement 'never a good sign' ahead of a listing.

Complaint filed with the Fair Trade Commission; the brand shrank from more than 80 stores to under 30; the IPO qualification review faced possible delay.

Franchisees signed on the strength of celebrity-chef brand promises — 30-million-won months — that the FTC's own data shows were never reached.

Actual margins of 7 to 8 percent and cost rates above 45 percent landed far from the promised 20 to 25 percent and 36 to 40 percent.

The protest landed exactly inside the IPO qualification window, when regulatory attention is most expensive for an issuer.

It was the company's second listing attempt after 2018 failed, leaving no goodwill buffer for a franchisee dispute.

Sales promises made to franchisees become regulatory evidence: whatever the pitch meeting said, the regulator's own store-level numbers are what the brand gets judged by.

The company denied the claims and pointed to supply-cost cuts of 15 to 25 percent, while the store network shrank to under 30; the FTC complaint's outcome was not known at the time of reporting, and experts expected it could slow the listing.