Son of Saengtaetang Restaurant "Oh White Pants... Definitely" May 5 Press Conference Canceled "Afraid of Retaliation"

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Park Jun-i] A, the son of the owner of the saengtae-tang (pollack soup) restaurant who claimed that O Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, had dined there with his father-in-law in 2005, canceled a press conference on the 5th. The conference was originally scheduled to be held around 11 a.m. in front of the main gate of Seoul City Hall, but after the press conference, fearing exposure of his identity, he suddenly informed that he would not hold the press conference that day.

On the 5th, Ahn Jin-geol, director of the Minsheng Economy Research Institute, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy, "They (the saengtae-tang restaurant owner and his son) were afraid of being harmed and could not do it because their identities would be revealed," adding, "Everyone around them advised against it, so they decided not to hold the press conference that day."

A appeared on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' on the 2nd and testified that O had eaten saengtae-tang in June 2005. This coincides with the time when farmer Kim, who personally installed stakes for surveying, said he went to the restaurant to eat saengtae-tang with O and O's father-in-law. Kim also appeared on the same program on the 29th of last month and said, "I drove the stakes from start to finish during the survey," and added that he had lunch with O. At that time, O was wearing sunglasses, but when he took them off in the restaurant, it was confirmed to be O.

On the same day, A appeared again on 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' and said, "About 95% of the customers at our restaurant are from a certain company, and they all wear suits," adding, "(O) was wearing very eye-catching white cotton pants at the time." He also mentioned Ferragamo shoes again, saying, "I was also wearing Ferragamo loafers then, but the horsebit decoration on his was slightly larger. He has long legs, so I found him quite attractive," recalling O. Although A had planned to hold a press conference in front of Seoul City Hall in the morning, he canceled it citing concerns about identity exposure and potential harm.

The controversy over Naegok-dong is expected to continue at the Seoul mayoral by-election candidate debate hosted by the Broadcast Journalists Club starting at 2 p.m. that day.

Kang Sun-woo, a spokesperson for candidate Park's campaign, said in a statement, "Today's TV debate is the last chance to tell the truth," pressuring O.

He said, "The last TV debate that O, who has been running away so much, will attend is happening this afternoon," adding, "Ordinary citizens have shown great courage to reveal the truth. O should also muster courage and confess before the people."

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