Criticizing Quarantine Guidelines, a Customer Throws 'Used Soup Broth' on Shared Soy Sauce Container

A closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage capturing a customer, dissatisfied with the restaurant owner's request to leave during break time, secretly putting the food they were eating into a communal soy sauce container. Photo by JTBC

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] A customer dissatisfied with a restaurant owner's request to leave during break time secretly put the food they were eating into a communal soy sauce container and left.

The Gwacheon Police Station in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 17th that they are investigating after receiving a report from the restaurant owner that "a customer put leftover food into the communal soy sauce container and left."

The customer, estimated to be in their 50s, ordered dumpling hot pot and soju with one companion at a restaurant in Gwacheon on the afternoon of the 16th. According to the restaurant owner, Mr. A, the customer stayed at the restaurant for nearly two hours.

Mr. A informed the customer that from 3 p.m. onward was break time and requested that the dining time be limited to within one hour, following the quarantine authorities' recommendations, asking the customer to finish their meal quickly.

In response, the customer scooped leftover hot pot broth with a spoon and poured it into the communal soy sauce container placed on the table, then left the restaurant. Suspicious of the customer's behavior, Mr. A later reviewed the restaurant's internal CCTV footage, which clearly captured the customer's actions.

In an interview with JTBC Newsroom on the 17th, Mr. A expressed, "No matter how much of a prank it is, is this the kind of prank to play? They are not children," adding, "A restaurant is about hygiene, and if oil floats in the soy sauce container that everyone shares, it's the same as spitting on food in the COVID-19 era."

The police are identifying the customer on suspicion of property damage and will also investigate whether there was a violation of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

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