"Sent a Chicken Photo Circulating on SNS, Child Ate It and Got Sick"

Customer Who Ordered Chicken Delivery Suddenly Demands Refund
"Chicken Undercooked" Photo Sent Turns Out to Be from Past Online Community Post
Contact Cut Off After Requesting Explanation... "Considering Lawsuit"

A customer who ordered chicken delivery demanded a refund and compensation from the owner, claiming "the chicken was undercooked," but it was later revealed to be a staged incident, sparking controversy.

A customer who ordered chicken delivery demanded a refund and medical expenses, claiming that the chicken was undercooked.
[Photo by JTBC 'Sageonbanjang']

On the 4th, JTBC's 'Sageon Banjang' reported that a self-employed person, Mr. A, who runs a chicken restaurant in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, received a somewhat absurd refund request. According to Mr. A, on the 26th of last month, he received a complaint call from a customer, Mr. B, saying, "The chicken was not cooked properly. My child ate the chicken, got a stomachache, and had to go to the emergency room."

Mr. A then asked Mr. B to provide a photo of the undercooked chicken and processed the refund, but he never received the photo. However, a few days later, Mr. B suddenly requested again, "I have reported this to the media, so please send the cost of the child’s Cheongsimhwan (calming pills)." The message from Mr. B included a bank account number and the photo he had requested at the time of the refund.

Photo sent by customer Mr. B and a photo of undercooked chicken posted on a community in 2020. [Photo by JTBC 'Sageonbanjang']

The problem was the authenticity of the photo Mr. B sent when demanding the refund. In the photo, the meat attached to the chicken leg bone still showed blood that had not yet dried. The adjacent meat was also undercooked, showing a bright red color. The chicken container included a side menu item called 'saewoo gwaja' (shrimp crackers), and there was wax paper underneath the chicken. None of these items are provided or used at Mr. A’s restaurant.

Sensing something suspicious, Mr. A used a portal image search function and discovered that the photo Mr. B sent had been posted on an online community in the past. Mr. A said, "When I confronted Mr. B, he said he 'had a sample' and promised to send the receipt and chicken photo again, but I still have not received them," adding, "I am currently out of contact with Mr. B." Mr. A also mentioned that he is considering filing a civil lawsuit against Mr. B.

Netizens who came across this story responded with comments such as, "They must sue so that such acts cannot be repeated," "Maybe they didn’t even have money to buy chicken," "There is an urgent need for measures to punish such black consumers," and "I don’t understand why they use an innocent child as an excuse."