At the 19th Chungbuk Disabled Citizens’ Sports Festival opening ceremony, a controversy arose over the poor quality of the provided lunchboxes. Kim Seon-tae, a civil servant from Chungju and operator of the official YouTube channel known as ‘Chungju Man,’ offered a direct apology over the issue.
On the 29th, a video titled “Let Me Explain” was posted on Chungju’s official YouTube channel, in which Mr. Kim detailed the circumstances surrounding the lunchbox controversy, stating, “There was an issue with the lunchboxes on the first day of the Disabled Citizens’ Sports Festival. I want to inform you about what happened.”
The problematic lunchboxes were given to some participants during the festival’s opening on April 24 at Hoam Gymnasium in Chungju. Each lunchbox was priced at 12,000 won, but they only contained simple sides such as seasoned seaweed, pickled perilla leaves, kimchi, and green chili peppers. Some even lacked a main dish.
Some participants expressed their dissatisfaction, stating that the lunchbox was “too embarrassing to be called a lunchbox.”
Joining Mr. Kim in the video, Gwak Young-ae, a team leader from the Chungju City Disabled Sports Association, explained, “We chose this lunchbox provider because we needed a company that could also supply tents, tables, and chairs for the event.” She noted that during pre-event tasting, the food seemed adequate, but on the day of the event, they prepared over 1,400 lunchboxes, with quantities diminishing noticeably, especially after the first 1,100.
The local supplier involved stated its intention to not charge for tent rentals and to reduce the lunchbox cost from 9,000 won to 6,000 won after the controversy. However, Ms. Gwak remarked that “even the adjusted 6,000 won price seemed too high,” and mentioned they are in the process of further negotiations. She added that while the company representative apologized, saying “sorry” alone isn’t sufficient.
Ms. Gwak further admitted, “The biggest responsibility lies with us for not thoroughly verifying the selection process of the provider,” and offered a sincere apology to the participating athletes. Mr. Kim also extended apologies, acknowledging, “They are guests who visited Chungju, and we should have taken better care of them. We are truly sorry.”
Chungju City concluded the video with a caption, stating, “We immediately initiated an audit on this matter and will thoroughly investigate to ensure no suspicions remain regarding the selection process of the lunchbox provider.” They assured of taking rightful actions such as seeking damages against the provider and pledged to strengthen inspections and controls to prevent similar incidents in the future.