"I Didn't Know They Didn't Pay"... 'Heukdwaeji Meoktwi' Couple Apologizes at Restaurant

President: "A Great Wound to Good Self-Employed People"

A young man and woman caused controversy by dining and dashing at a meat restaurant in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, known as the "meat restaurant eat-and-run incident." The parties involved later visited the restaurant to apologize. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Pixabay

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] The individuals involved in the so-called 'meat restaurant dine-and-dash incident,' where a young man and woman fled without paying their bill at a meat restaurant, have visited the store to apologize.

A, who runs a meat restaurant in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, stated on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyunjung's News Show' on the 2nd, "As the issue became public, one of the two people came to the store directly around 5 p.m. yesterday."

He continued, "The man did not come, but the woman and two people who appeared to be guardians came," adding, "They said repeatedly, 'It was never intentional, and we didn't know we hadn't paid. We are truly sorry.'"

A said, "I think they felt burdened and fearful after hearing about this from people around them and came to visit. I recall that the guardian who came with her was someone related to her workplace," he added.

He went on, "I know that dine-and-dash cases like this happen quite often. Since most of these are considered minor offenses, many who commit such acts do not feel guilty and often do not even realize it is a crime," expressing his difficulties, "When self-employed people report to the police, the stress from that often leads them to think, 'Let's just forget it as bad luck.'"

He urged, "(Dine-and-dash) is an act that causes great harm to honest self-employed business owners who strive to bring happiness to their customers, regardless of the amount."

The incident became known after A posted a message titled 'Gangseo-gu Meat Restaurant Dine-and-Dash Incident' on a self-employed community on the 30th of last month.

In the post, A explained that a young man and woman ordered about 90,000 won worth of food, including 800g of Jeju black pork, two bottles of soju, two cans of soda, bibim naengmyeon, scorched rice soup, and four bowls of rice, and refilled soybean paste stew twice, then disappeared without paying.

He said, "One of the customers went to the restroom, and the other was preparing something but then just got up and left. I thought they went out for a cigarette during a busy time and was caught off guard," adding, "After reviewing the CCTV, their behavior from entering to leaving the store seemed planned and habitual. A police friend told me that if they didn't scan the QR code, it would be difficult to find them," expressing his grievance.

The incident spread online and sparked a heated response. Self-employed people who sympathized with the post commented, "Dine-and-dash in this day and age is terrible," "I've been victimized once or twice too," "It's really disheartening," and "Now I understand why some places require prepayment."

Meanwhile, dine-and-dash can be punished under the Minor Offenses Act with a fine, detention, or penalty not exceeding 100,000 won.

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