"Received Nationwide Criticism"... 'Jeju Meoktwi Family' Actually Due to Employee Mistake

CCTV Footage Released Through Broadcast
But Employee Mistakenly Confused the Table

Recently, a story about a family of seven leaving a barbecue restaurant in Jeju Island without paying after their meal, known as a 'meoktwi' (dine-and-dash) incident, sparked public outrage. However, it was revealed that this was a misunderstanding caused by an employee's mistake, and the family had actually paid for their food before leaving the restaurant.

On the 7th, an online community called BobaeDream posted a message titled "Can I reveal the family who did a meoktwi at a Jeju restaurant?"

A, who identified themselves as the restaurant owner, said, "In my 11 years of running this business, this was the first time I encountered a meoktwi customer," adding, "The family quietly left the restaurant with smirks on their faces while the staff were busy."

A explained that four adults, including a pregnant woman, and three children had dined for over an hour but left the restaurant one by one without paying, causing a loss of 168,000 won. They added, "I want to expose these malicious people who cause disappointment and self-blame among small business owners like us."

In fact, A submitted the restaurant's internal CCTV footage to a broadcasting station, which was featured on a program covering domestic incidents. The story was also reported by multiple media outlets, leading to heavy criticism directed at the Jeju family caught on video.

However, it was revealed that this was not a meoktwi by the family but a misunderstanding caused by a restaurant employee's error. On the 9th, a restaurant representative told News1, "After checking CCTV footage from a different angle, we found that our employee had paid for the food using the bill from another table, not that family’s."

They continued, "It was not a dine-and-dash but a payment. We apologize," asking for forgiveness. A also said they deleted all posts on the community after realizing the misunderstanding.

Netizens responded with comments such as, "There have been many meoktwi cases lately, so it's understandable that the owner was sensitive, but it would have been better to be more cautious," and "They received all the criticism, and now they say it was a mistake."