Optimal 5-Day Post-Slaughter Aging: A True Innovation?

Jeongyookgak, despite attracting 120 billion won in investment, ultimately entered court receivership after two years, as its 90 billion won acquisition of Chorokmaeul proved to be its downfall. On July 4, 2025, Jeongyookgak, once a leading player in innovative distribution, and its subsidiary Chorokmaeul filed an application for rehabilitation proceedings with the Seoul Bankruptcy Court, delivering a shock. Established in 2016, Jeongyookgak captivated the market with its unconventional service of 'delivery within 4 days of slaughter.' While it appeared to be achieving rapid growth, fueled by 120 billion won in investment, internal controversies over its marketing strategy were constant. In particular, its core claim that 'pork tastes best within 5 days of slaughter' was revealed by livestock experts to lack scientific basis. This drew criticism as 'noise marketing without fundamentals,' but it was largely overlooked at the time due to its rapid growth. The decisive turning point was the 2022 acquisition of Chorokmaeul for 90 billion won. While it garnered expectations for online and offline synergy, as Jeongyookgak outpaced large corporations to embrace the organic food distribution company, this turned into a disaster. Immediately after the acquisition, Jeongyookgak's financial condition rapidly deteriorated, recording an operating loss of 22.5 billion won in 2023 alone, and its debt swelled uncontrollably. Three fatal mistakes contributed to this failure. First, it was an 'excessive acquisition scale' relative to Jeongyookgak's financial capabilities at the time. Second, a 'delusion of integration' beyond a simple combination of online and offline resulted in enormous costs and inefficiencies in integrating different corporate cultures and systems. Third, 'misjudgment of external environmental changes' such as interest rate hikes, investment contraction, and consumption slowdown, which began in 2023, compounded, leading to a failure to attract additional funds. Currently, Jeongyookgak and Chorokmaeul are in a state of substantial debt overhang, with hundreds of creditors concerned about potential losses. Although the court has permitted the existing management to continue operations for business continuity, if the rehabilitation plan fails to gain creditor approval, it could lead to bankruptcy proceedings. This incident caused huge losses to the venture capitalists (VCs) who invested in Jeongyookgak and lit a warning light across the entire startup ecosystem. The call for focusing on substantive growth rather than external expansion through reckless M&A is growing louder. It left an important lesson that a paradigm shift from 'rapid growth' to 'sustainable growth' is needed, and innovative marketing must always be backed by industry expertise and scientific evidence. The Jeongyookgak incident will serve as a signal for restructuring in the distribution industry and a touchstone presenting a new direction for the startup ecosystem.