“Aigo, My Tooth” The Fate of the ‘Black Consumer’ Who Troubled Food Companies Nationwide Claiming to Have Chewed Metal Fragments

Busan Police Agency Arrests Man Who Habitually Extorted Small Dental Treatment Fees by Threatening 114 Small and Medium Food Companies

Malicious consumers deliberately inserting 1mm-sized metal fragments into food products.
[Image source=Busan Police Agency]

Tiny metal shavings deliberately inserted into food products by malicious consumers.
[Image source=Busan Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A ‘black consumer’ who habitually threatened food manufacturers by inserting hard foreign objects like metal fragments into food and claiming dental damage to extort money was finally arrested.

He used metal pieces as a tool for easy threats to seek compensation for dental treatment. He targeted small and medium-sized food companies with inadequate legal response systems and demanded small compensation amounts to easily extort money.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency’s Violent Crime Investigation Unit announced on the 29th that they arrested and detained Mr. A (male), who inserted foreign objects into food produced by 114 small and medium-sized food manufacturers nationwide and extorted money by threatening to report them to institutions such as the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety if compensation was not provided.

From September last year to March this year, Mr. A demanded compensation, claiming, “My teeth were injured due to metal fragments in the product, and I need dental treatment,” and threatened to report to regulatory agencies if compensation was not made.

He extorted a total of 12.7 million KRW by threatening 114 companies, including taking 300,000 KRW as treatment fees.

The police stated that since there may be additional cases of habitual extortion of relatively small amounts from small and medium-sized food manufacturers, they plan to continuously crack down on such blackmail crimes to protect business operations.

The police advised that if a call demanding compensation due to foreign objects found in food is received, verify the facts promptly and take necessary measures. If false threats are suspected, report to the police to prevent similar criminal damage.

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