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Namyang Dairy’s chairman Hong Won Sik previously made a pledge to resign following the scandal involving its Bulgaris yogurt products where the company falsely claimed it could help prevent COVID-19. He made the promise to step down in May, but the latest reports state that he did an about-face and maintained his post in the company.
According to The Korea Herald, Hong Won Sik may have reversed the decision, because based on the details of the company’s half-year report that was shown late last week, he is still the chairman of the company and working full-time. It was even posted that he received a salary worth ₩808 million or around $682,685 for the first half of this year.
With that, it was noted that he seems to be not keeping his promise to resign since he is still registered as an employee under the chairmanship position. The company has yet to comment on this new allegation about its chair.
It can be recalled that he offered to resign in May to take responsibility for the controversial claims about its Bulgaris yogurt products and COVID-19. Experts in the medical field blasted Namyang for making such statements amid the pandemic when there is no concrete evidence that supports their claims, TBS News reported.
At that time, Hong Won Sik tearfully said in a press conference that he would resign and added that he would not hand down the management to any of his children. For the company to continue its business, he suggested the sale of Namyang and agreed to sell 53.07% stakes owned by his family members.
The buyer is the private equity firm Hahn & Company, and the deal was said to be worth ₩310.7 billion. But another issue cropped up when Namyang’s chairman delayed the signing of the deal. It was moved to September, and Hahn & Co. said this was decided without their consent.
It was reported that Hong Won Sik may be expressing regret over the sale of his family's company, but he refuted this last week when he released a new statement saying the deal with Hahn & Co. is still good.
