"Why Won't You Cut My Hotteok?" Angry Customer Throws Hotteok into Boiling Oil, Owner Suffers Burns

On the 5th, a man in Daegu visited a hotteok shop and requested to have his hotteok cut, but when his request was denied, he threw the hotteok into boiling oil.
Photo by KBS News Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] An incident occurred at a hotteok shop in Daegu where a man threw hotteok into boiling oil and caused burns to the shop owner after his request to have the hotteok cut was refused.

According to KBS on the 8th, around 2:45 PM on the 5th, a man identified as Mr. A visited a franchise hotteok shop located on Dongcheon-ro, Buk-gu, Daegu Metropolitan City. After ordering two hotteok, he requested, "Please cut the hotteok," but when the owner, Mr. B, refused, Mr. A threw the hotteok into the oil and left the scene.

At that time, the oil splashed onto Mr. B’s upper body near the oil container, and Mr. B suffered second- to third-degree burns on his right hand back, chest, and shoulder, and is currently receiving hospital treatment.

According to the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, after receiving the two hotteok, Mr. A pointed to scissors inside the store and asked Mr. B to cut the hotteok.

Mr. B explained, "The principle is not to cut the hotteok," and added, "There is a notice on the inside of the store and on the menu board stating 'Cutting not allowed'." He further refused by saying, "The scissors are not for food use and are dirty, so I cannot give them to you."

Meanwhile, Mr. B has suspended business for four days from the day of the incident until the 8th. Mr. B posted on the store’s social media accounts, "I am forced to take a break due to burns on my right arm," and added, "The break period may be adjusted later."

The police plan to accurately investigate the circumstances of the incident through victim interviews after Mr. B is discharged from the hospital.

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