Soju Served to Customers "Smells Like Diesel"
Company Also Admits... 12 Out of 16 Bottles Recalled
Self-Employed "Company's Response Was Inadequate"
A story has emerged about a self-employed business owner who requested an investigation from a company after detecting a diesel smell in soju delivered and served to customers.
On the 29th, a post titled "Diesel was found in the soju being sold" was uploaded to an online community. As of 9 a.m. on the 2nd, the post had garnered 80,700 views and 1,200 recommendations, becoming a major topic of discussion. The author, Mr. A, who runs a barbecue restaurant in Seoul, began by saying, "In over 10 years of business, there has never been a problem related to alcohol, but in early April, a customer drinking soju said, 'There is a smell coming from the soju.'"
Mr. A said, "When I smelled it, it really smelled like diesel," adding, "At that moment, all the surrounding customers were looking, and the CCTV recorded even another table’s customer smelling it." He continued, "Although I was embarrassed, I thought it was just one defective bottle, so I refunded the customer and calmed them down. Later, after closing, my family and I were drinking soju and noticed a similar smell, so we checked the refrigerator and all the received liquor. About 20 bottles of soju were soaked in oil," he explained. "When we opened the caps, the smell was exactly diesel. My mother drank a whole bottle of the diesel-soaked soju, felt unwell and dizzy, and was anxious because she thought she had ingested diesel. She was in poor condition for several days and even visited the hospital immediately," he described the situation.
Mr. A said, "When I contacted the liquor manufacturer, at first they didn’t even visit," adding, "After persistent contact, they seemed to realize the seriousness and came right away to smell the soju. They later admitted, 'This is mixed with diesel.' The company said they would compensate for the damages and collected 12 out of 16 bottles. We said we would keep the remaining 4 bottles since we didn’t know what would happen to them," he said, thinking the matter was settled.
However, even after two weeks, there was no contact from the company. Frustrated, Mr. A reached out again, and the company said, "The victim’s family said they would report it themselves, so we did not." Mr. A said, "Originally, the assistant manager was supposed to come to the store, but he was on vacation that day, so the deputy manager came instead. After speaking with the assistant manager, the deputy manager reported that since we didn’t give them the soju, they never collected it. We didn’t give them the soju bottle the victim drank from; instead, we told them to take the bottle we drank from after pouring the victim’s soju into it, which makes no sense," he said. "There is clear evidence of the soju, but they didn’t take it and just stayed silent, which makes me very angry. They took 12 bottles of soju, and rather than compensation, their changing statements about taking responsibility and resolving the issue make me feel terrible. I don’t know what to do," he lamented.
Netizens who read the story reacted with comments such as, "Diesel in the soju we drink," "If diesel was found in several bottles, it might have been distributed nationwide," "Having ingested diesel, please take care of your health going forward," and "I’m scared that diesel might come out of the soju I drink." A netizen B, who works in the industry, advised, "If highly volatile oil and soju are stored in the same space, such phenomena can occur. This usually happens when stored for a long time at wholesale warehouses or together in stores. Don’t drink it and get it exchanged immediately."
Previously, in 2013, diesel components were also detected in soju. When a customer drinking at a restaurant in Cheongju reported, "There is a gasoline smell from the soju bottle," the police collected 15 bottles of soju the customer group was drinking and those stored by the restaurant. They requested component analysis from the National Forensic Service and were notified that diesel components were detected in 8 bottles. At that time, the police said, "The victims who were taken to the hospital after drinking the problematic soju all received medical results showing no particular abnormalities," and "Even if diesel was mixed into the soju due to negligence during distribution, it does not constitute injury by negligence, so there is no practical benefit to investigation," closing the case internally.
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