"Thank You, Lobster": Why the Controversy? Vice Chairman Chung Yongjin's Posts Spark "Insult to the Deceased" vs. "Impressive" Debate

"Did He Parody Ruling Party Politicians' Sewol Memorial Messages?"
Some Far-Right Figures Say, "From Now On, I'll Only Use Emart... Chung Yongjin Is Truly Amazing"

Vice Chairman Yongjin Chung of Shinsegae Group has sparked heated debates among netizens over several posts he shared on social networking services (SNS).
[Photo by Instagram capture]

[Asia Economy, reporter Hwang Sumi] Questions have been raised over whether Vice Chairman Chung Yongjin of Shinsegae Group was parodying memorial posts by ruling party politicians for the Sewol ferry tragedy in his recent social media posts. This has sparked heated debates among netizens, leading to both boycotts and buycotts of Shinsegae Group affiliates.

On May 25 and 26, Chung posted photos of rockfish and lobster dishes on Instagram, each accompanied by food reviews containing the repeated phrase, "Sorry, thank you." For the rockfish dish, he wrote, "Farewell, rockfish. You truly restored the pride of rockfish. Sorry, thank you." For the lobster dish, he wrote, "Lobster, farewell. Sorry, thank you."

Some have pointed out that the repeated phrase "Sorry, thank you" may be a parody of the memorial message left by President Moon Jae-in at the Sewol ferry plaza in the past.

Previously, in March 2017, when Moon was the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, he visited the memorial altar for Sewol ferry victims at Paengmok Port in Jindo and wrote in the guestbook, "Kids, you were the starlight of the candlelight plaza. Your spirits became ten million candles. Sorry. Thank you." At the time, Moon's use of "thank you" in reference to children who lost their lives in the accident drew criticism for being inappropriate.

On May 28, Chung posted a photo of beef on Instagram with the caption, "You restored our taste. Truly, thank you."

This is similar to a phrase left by former Seoul Mayor Park Wonsoon in the guestbook at the Sewol ferry victims' memorial altar at Paengmok Port in 2016. At that time, Park wrote, "Kids, you rebuilt the Republic of Korea. Truly, thank you."

Jung Yongjin, Vice Chairman of Shinsegae Group, is sitting in the stands to watch the professional baseball game between Incheon SSG Landers and Busan Lotte Giants held at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 4th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Some netizens speculated that Chung was intentionally mimicking the Sewol ferry guestbook messages of President Moon and former Mayor Park to mock them, fueling criticism that he was "insulting the deceased." In pro-ruling party online communities, posts calling for boycotts of Shinsegae Group affiliates such as Starbucks and Emart followed one after another. One netizen criticized, "Does being a chaebol and having a lot of money mean you can do anything? There are lines that should not be crossed." Another expressed anger, saying, "What Ilbe did to former President Roh Moo-hyun is now being done to the Sewol tragedy while eating seafood."

On the other hand, some far-right figures openly expressed support for Shinsegae Group. The conservative YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute suggested a buycott, stating, "From now on, I will only use Emart." The channel added, "We will love SSG Landers as much as the LG Twins. If we go to a department store, it will only be Shinsegae Department Store," and praised, "Vice Chairman Chung Yongjin is truly amazing."

Meanwhile, some have argued that it is an overinterpretation to view posts made without special meaning through a political lens. They claim that linking everyday expressions to the Sewol ferry guestbook messages is an exaggeration.

As controversy grew among netizens, Chung partially edited the content of his beef-related post, but has maintained the phrase "Sorry, thank you" in posts mentioning rockfish and lobster. On May 29, he also posted a photo of octopus with the caption, "From a foreigner's perspective, this is considered one of the most disgusting foods. But we eat it very deliciously. It's a cultural difference. thank you nakji," on Instagram.

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