Cigarette Found in Gukbap... Customer Complains for Over an Hour
Apology Demanded After Group's Mistake Confirmed, But Refused
A customer who shouted loudly inside a restaurant claiming that a cigarette was found in the gukbap they were eating and did not pay for the meal was instead sued by the restaurant owner. CCTV footage confirmed that the cigarette was accidentally put into the gukbap by the customer.
On the 2nd, JTBC's 'Case Manager' reported that such an absurd incident occurred in the early morning of the 29th of last month at a restaurant in Gwangju. Two customers, including Mr. A, ordered assorted boiled pork and alcohol at the restaurant and received gukbap as a complimentary dish. After about 20 minutes of dining, Mr. A and his party suddenly became angry, claiming there was a cigarette in the gukbap.
Mr. A shouted, "Call the owner out. There’s a cigarette. What kind of act is this?" and "This food has been reused. Admit that you reused it," while hurling insults in protest. Since the owner was not present, the manager came out and explained that the food was not reused, but Mr. A raised his voice, saying, "Why won’t you admit it when there’s a cigarette?"
Mr. A then reported the restaurant to the district office’s food hygiene department and the police, and for about an hour afterward, loudly threatened inside the restaurant, saying things like "I will ruin this restaurant" and "I will call the police to get you shut down." Even after the police arrived, Mr. A’s protests intensified, and other customers eventually intervened to stop him.
The police took the agitated Mr. A outside the restaurant and warned that his behavior could be considered business obstruction, but nine minutes later, Mr. A returned to the restaurant and raised his voice again. He left without paying the approximately 31,000 won bill.
Restaurant owner Mr. B explained, "None of the restaurant staff are smokers," and "There is absolutely no way a cigarette could have gotten into the food." After reviewing the CCTV footage, it was revealed that the foreign object was accidentally introduced by Mr. A’s party. A piece of sundae (Korean blood sausage) that Mr. A picked up with chopsticks fell and rolled onto a cigarette Mr. A had placed on the table, and then Mr. A’s party put the sundae with the cigarette back into the gukbap.
Mr. B tried contacting Mr. A several times, but Mr. A avoided the calls. When they finally connected after about 10 hours, Mr. A responded roughly with, "What do you want me to do?" "I’m busy, call me later," and "Okay, I got it." There was no apology or mention of paying for the food.
Mr. B has currently filed a police complaint against Mr. A for eating without paying, business obstruction, and threats. Netizens who learned about the incident commented, "This person seems to have poor anger control," "If a cigarette really came out of the gukbap you were eating, wouldn’t you first doubt yourself?" "Complaining for over an hour after eating 30,000 won worth of food," "Good job on suing, owner," and "That person probably doesn’t even realize they’re the troublemaker."
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