[Edaily Reporter kim mi-kyung ] As the controversy surrounding Baek Jong-won, CEO of The BORN Korea, begins to subside, the company’s net loss for the third quarter of this year has narrowed significantly. The quarterly operating loss was the lowest recorded in the past year.

The restaurant franchise company #The BORN Korea announced on the 13th that its consolidated revenue for the third quarter of this year totaled 85 billion won. The operating loss was 3.7 billion won, down approximately 15% from the same period last year (4.4 billion won) and 33% from the previous quarter (5.6 billion won).

With a significant number of lawsuits and criminal complaints involving CEO Baek Jong-won and The BORN Korea having been closed with rulings of “no grounds for charges,” “no indictment,” or “case not filed,” the atmosphere of management uncertainty is easing. The company explained that last year, it provided large-scale mutual support funds to franchisees struggling due to the downturn in the restaurant industry, and this year, it is focusing on improving profitability through normal business operations.

A The BORN Korea official stated, “As the scale of operating losses has decreased compared to both the same period last year and the previous quarter, we assess them to be within a manageable range.”

However, the cost burden associated with overseas business expansion remains. The BORN Korea expects that the impact of business expansion costs at some overseas subsidiaries on its consolidated financial results will continue for the time being, as the company continues to invest in overseas expansion and the establishment of a distribution business foundation.

In fact, amid a slump in the domestic foodservice market, The BORN Korea is supporting a stable business environment for existing franchisees while also focusing on expanding its RMR (Restaurant Meal Replacement) product lineup using brand intellectual property (IP) and building a business foundation for entry into the global food market.

The BORN Korea plans to transition from a franchise-centric business structure to that of a comprehensive food company over the medium to long term. A company official stated, “We plan to expand our business through strategic mergers and acquisitions (M&A), diversification of our TBK sauce-based global business and distribution products, and the promotion of new domestic ventures,” adding, “We plan to continue expanding our overseas business portfolio, focusing on North America, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and Europe.”