À̹ÌÁö È®´ë Cho Ju-yeon
McDonald¡¯s Korea chief executive delivered her first formal regrets on Thursday after Korean consumers have fallen ill both lightly and seriously after eating its hamburgers.
CEO Cho Ju-yeon said in a statement that she was ¡°extremely sorry about the recent events¡± and that the company is ¡°fully cooperating with the government investigation to identify the cause of the illness.¡±
She announced a new guideline to improve food safety, including a third party investigation, food safety hot line for employees, strengthened staff training, customer visits to the kitchen, and online disclosure of the entire food making process.
She also expressed her sympathies to the customers suffering from hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) and said she would provide full support to the patients and their families.
À̹ÌÁö È®´ë The regret comes two months after the family of a four-year-old girl sued the fast-food chain on charges of violating food safety regulations, claiming that their daughter developed HUS after eating an undercooked bulgogi patty. The girl is reported to have lost 90 percent of her kidney function as a result.
Similar suits have followed, with five children to have allegedly contracted HUS.
In late August, seven elementary school students and their teacher also took ill after eating McDonald¡¯s hamburgers in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, prompting the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to launch a formal probe.
McDonald¡¯s has suspended sales of the troubled bulgogi burger.
By Baek Sang-kyung
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]