Filing a Damage Compensation Lawsuit at Suwon District Court
Lawyer: "Manyeokimbap Recklessly Pressures Victims to Settle"
Not directly related to the article content. / Photo by Ma-nyeo Gimbap official Instagram capture, Getty Images Bank
[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Victims of a mass food poisoning incident after eating at the gimbap franchise 'Manyeo Gimbap' have filed a lawsuit seeking approximately 400 million KRW in total damages.
From the 29th of last month to the 2nd of this month, over 300 people who ate gimbap at two Manyeo Gimbap branches in the Seongnam area showed symptoms of food poisoning, with about 40 hospitalized for treatment. Following this, Manyeo Gimbap stated, "We will accept any measures once the results are out. Although we are indeed afraid, we will neither evade nor hide."
According to the joint lawsuit platform 'Angry People,' lawyer Park Young-saeng (Jungjin Law Firm) announced on the afternoon of the 30th that he had filed an online damage compensation lawsuit at the Suwon District Court. The Suwon District Court has jurisdiction over Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, where the headquarters of Cheongdam-dong Manyeo Gimbap is located.
Through 'Angry People,' lawyer Park recruited participants for the damage compensation lawsuit targeting victims of the Manyeo Gimbap mass food poisoning incident over six rounds from the 6th to the 27th of this month.
About 130 participants in the lawsuit will claim damages against the headquarters, Cheongdam-dong Manyeo Gimbap F&B, and the representatives of the Cheongdam-dong Manyeo Gimbap Jeongja and Yatap branches. Lawyer Park stated that since the scale of individual damages such as medical expenses and loss of income has not been confirmed, he initially claimed 3 million KRW per person as consolation damages.
Lawyer Park argued, "Considering that the victims collectively showed food poisoning symptoms, all purchased and ate gimbap from Manyeo Gimbap around the same time, and that Salmonella bacteria were detected in the store's cooking equipment and victims' samples according to health authorities' investigations, a causal relationship between this mass food poisoning incident and Manyeo Gimbap's negligence will undoubtedly be recognized."
He added, "Although swift recovery for victims, including at least compensation for medical expenses, should be ensured, Manyeo Gimbap is currently pressuring victims to settle by saying things like 'insurance payments will not be made unless a settlement agreement is signed through the insurer and loss adjuster' or 'we will not even file an insurance claim,' effectively forcing victims into settlements."
He criticized this as "an unreasonable and irresponsible attitude that deprives individual victims, who lack legal knowledge, of even the minimum opportunity for compensation."
In this regard, Seongnam City announced that detailed tests by the Gyeonggi-do Health and Environment Research Institute detected Salmonella bacteria in many samples taken from food poisoning patients and two gimbap specialty store branches. Salmonella is a representative food poisoning bacterium, and consuming food contaminated with it can cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and fever.
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