A past franchisee of Korean fried chicken chain 'Mexicana' has sent a personal letter to IU, who is currently an advertising model for the brand, beseeching the singer to "confirm the 'influence' (quality) of the chicken."

On November 3, Lee Heung Mook, who used to run a 'Mexicana' chicken franchise restaurant in the Dongdaemun District up until 2013, gathered ten people to demonstrate in front of Loen Entertainment's headquarters denouncing the quality of 'Mexicana' chicken and delivered IU a handwritten letter.

In said letter, Lee claimed, "I deliver this letter to IU in the hopes of informing her on the true quality of 'Mexicana' chicken. While doing business by using IU's pure image to profit up front, the company exercised its power unfairly towards the franchisees behind closed doors."

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According to Lee, in order to improve their product quality, 'Mexicana' had changed its supplier. However, it appears the opposite may have occurred. Subsequent to this change, Lee had received continuous complaints from customers regarding the lack of quality in the chicken, which led him to lose money from a growing number of dissatisfied customers.

When his losses grew too great to manage, Lee sent notice in 2013 to 'Mexicana's corporate headquarters notifying them of his intention to nullify his contract prematurely. 'Mexicana' responded that same year in August by filing a lawsuit against Lee for damages amounting to 60 million KRW (~$53,071 USD) for the remaining year left in his franchising agreement.

The courts ruled that Lee must compensate 'Mexicana' with a smaller amount of 4 million KRW (~$3,539 USD) but he has currently submitted an appeal and disobeyed the ruling.

Lee further begged IU in his letter, "I hope that you, as a member of Korean society, know the true nature of 'Mexicana' chicken."

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