Restaurant suspected as 'China Secret Police Station' indicted for unreported business and other charges

The Chinese restaurant 'Dongbangmyeongju,' suspected of being a domestic base for the 'Chinese secret police,' and its representative have been brought to trial on charges including unregistered business operations.

At a Chinese restaurant in Seoul, identified as a domestic base for China's secret police stations operating overseas, CEO Wang Haijun held a "Secret Police Station Fact-Finding Briefing" in December 2022.

On the 2nd, the Criminal Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Son Jeong-hyun) announced that the Dongbangmyeongju corporation and its Chinese representative Wang Haijun (王海軍, 46) were indicted without detention on charges of violating the Food Sanitation Act, Outdoor Advertising Act, and Specialized Credit Finance Business Act.

Wang is accused of operating Dongbangmyeongju without reporting to the jurisdictional district, Songpa-gu, despite the expiration of the business registration period in December 2021. Additionally, when suspicions arose that Dongbangmyeongju was a Chinese secret police station, a large electronic billboard was installed on the restaurant's exterior without proper notification to clarify the matter. The billboard displayed the phrase, "Manipulating Korean politics to destroy Korea-China friendship."

The prosecution also indicted Wang's spouse, Im, and another restaurant corporation operated by Im for running the restaurant without reporting to the jurisdictional district and for settling payments related to that restaurant under the name of the Dongbangmyeongju corporation.

In March of last year, the Songpa Police Station transferred Wang's case to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, and in July of the same year, the Namdaemun Police Station transferred Im's case to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office received Wang's case in November last year, conducted investigations, and handled both cases collectively.