"Impressive Sandals on Bare Feet" Cafe Owner Apologizes but Criticism Continues Unabated

Community Members "Don't Understand the Intent Behind the Insults"
Netizens "It's a Clear Crime"

A cafe owner posted a photo of a customer captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV) to an online community and mocked them. Photo by 'Jeongguk Cafe Sajang Yeonhaphoe' Naver Cafe post capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Hanah Na] An online community of cafe self-employed owners is facing a wave of criticism after a cafe owner posted an image of a customer captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV), mocking the customer by saying "bare legs with sandals, impressive."

Earlier on the 23rd, a CCTV screenshot and a post showing a female customer who visited the cafe were uploaded to the community.

The author appeared to evaluate or mock the woman's appearance, saying, "Her outfit was unique and her mindset seemed different," and added, "Why did a woman from the metropolitan area come to this rural place? Bare legs with sandals are impressive."

Community members left mocking comments on the post, such as "It’s winter, her toes must be cold," and "Maybe she was communicating with somewhere in outer space."

Once this became known, some netizens criticized the post. One netizen pointed out, "Sharing and privately using a CCTV screen capture like that is illegal," and added, "Consent for using store CCTV is only applicable for crime prevention and safety management."

Other netizens also expressed negative reactions, saying, "This is a form of voyeurism," and "Who would want to go to a cafe if it’s scary like this?"

As the controversy continued, the cafe owner wrote a handwritten apology on the 30th and posted it on the online community. The cafe owner stated, "I left the post out of frustration because many customers seemed unaware that the hall had reopened, but I was careless," and added, "I am sorry for causing inconvenience to the customer and for the cafe being criticized online. I will be more careful to prevent such incidents."

The online community also posted an official apology, saying, "We have nothing to say even if we had ten mouths. We bow our heads and sincerely apologize," and "We will be more cautious with every post and comment. We will strive to prevent such incidents from recurring."

However, many community members posted messages indicating they did not understand the criticism against the cafe owner, such as "I don’t understand why people are cursing," and "There are too many people eager to curse."

On the other hand, netizens who saw the cafe owner’s apology continued their criticism, saying, "They are just pretending to apologize because the issue got bigger. Before it escalated, they treated those who spoke up like XXX," "An incomprehensible criminal," and "A clear criminal."

Meanwhile, distributing CCTV footage without the consent of the person involved can lead to criminal penalties under the Personal Information Protection Act. Unauthorized disclosure may result in imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won under Article 71, Paragraph 2 of the Personal Information Protection Act.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.