[Sportschosun Baek Ji-eun] Cho Minah, formerly of Jewelry, apologized for the controversy over her expensive jelly beans in the past.
On the 1st, a video titled "The Reason Seo In-young Didn't Invite Only Cho Minah to Her Wedding (+ First Look Inside Cho Minah's Home, Son Kang-ho)" was uploaded to Seo In-young's Gaegwacheonseon YouTube channel.
Cho Minah said, "I thought I had no fans or haters," but Seo In-young shot back, "You had haters because of your jelly beans."
In 2015, Cho Minah ran Uju Goddess Bakery and ran into a series of problems. She drew criticism after revealing that she baked dacquoise with a 500-won coin in the oven, and that she made cakes by hand while wearing no sanitary cap or gloves and with nail polish on, sparking hygiene concerns. She also came under fire for selling capsule coffee at a price similar to ground coffee, and for pricing a jelly bean set at 120,000 won even though famous artisans sold jelly beans for less than 10,000 won each. Other products were also priced far too high, while the actual quality was very poor. In addition, she faced tax-evasion allegations after telling customers they had to pay extra when requesting a cash receipt or paying by credit card. She was also accused of lying after claiming she used organic ingredients to justify the high prices, when in fact she used processed butter containing many additives.
Cho Minah said, "It was my first time in society, so I didn't understand how the world worked. I wanted to make everything with good ingredients and offer it at cost." Seo In-young cut in, saying, "That's too long. Just say you were wrong for selling jelly beans," and Cho Minah apologized, saying, "The bread was expensive. I'm sorry."
Cho Minah debuted with Jewelry in 2002 and left the group in 2006. She married a non-celebrity man in 2020, gave birth to her son Kang-ho, and divorced in 2022. She is now raising her son alone while juggling three jobs, including running cooking classes, working as an insurance planner, and serving as a tarot master.
Cho Minah said, "I originally planned to deliver yogurt. I heard there was support for single-parent households, so I tried morning deliveries. But when I got home, Kang-ho was asleep after crying. So I uploaded my resume to a job site, and someone contacted me. They said I could earn about 3 million won a month. But 3 million won wasn't enough for me. I had debt. Before my marriage, I spent a long time repaying my father's debt, and after my divorce, I had to pay back the loan my ex-husband took out using our home as collateral."
She added, "I wanted to clear my debt as quickly as possible, so I worked from the moment I woke up until I went to bed. I started working as an insurance planner. I was selected as Insurance King 22 times and also ranked No. 1 nationwide in sales. My annual income is in the hundreds of millions of won, but because it is commission-based, my monthly earnings vary a lot. The company said I was the kind of person who could sell a water purifier even in the desert."
She said, "I don't want my son to feel confused. I still don't receive child support, but I hope other single mothers can stay strong too."
Baek Ji-eun, silk781220@sportschosun.com
