"Chairman of Changwon Chamber Makes Sexual Harassment Remark at Luncheon: 'Eating Pomegranate Makes Breasts Bigger'"

Choi Jaeho, Chairman of the Gyeongnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Council, sparked controversy after making sexually inappropriate remarks during a lunch following a regular briefing.

On the morning of the 24th, Chairman Choi held the September regular briefing at the Changwon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where he discussed proposals for expanding the Changwon Immigration Office and the formation of the Masan Economic Revitalization Promotion Committee.

Afterward, Choi and the reporters who attended the briefing went to a restaurant in Changwon for lunch. When a glass with ice was served, Choi suggested drinking alcohol produced by his own liquor company, saying, "Let's have some of that during the day."

Changwon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gyeongnam. Photo by Lee Seryeong

Soon, carbonated soju in pomegranate, lemon, and blueberry flavors was brought to the table. Choi then said, "This is a women's drink. Please change this," and instructed those present to give the pomegranate-flavored carbonated soju to the female reporter in attendance.

He continued, "Isn't pomegranate for women?" and added, "You have to eat pomegranate to get a bigger chest. If men eat a lot of pomegranate, their chests get bigger too."

He also said, "It's fine for women to have a bigger chest, but men shouldn't have that happen."

At the lunch, there were 12 people present, including Chairman Choi, two staff members from the Changwon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and nine reporters. The remaining staff from the chamber ate in a separate room.

Reporter A, who was the only woman present, said, "I was so taken aback by Chairman Choi's remarks that I responded, 'Excuse me?'" She added, "I couldn't believe what I had just heard, but since neither Chairman Choi nor most of the other reporters seemed to react, I decided to hold back for the moment."

"I acted as if I hadn't heard anything until the end of the meal, but I felt increasingly uncomfortable," she added. "It was an extremely rude and unpleasant comment."

According to our coverage, Chairman Choi later called the female reporter and said, "I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable with my inappropriate words during lunch. I didn't mean anything else by it; I just thought pomegranate is good for women."

He continued, "My child ate a lot of pomegranate and their chest area grew larger. That's why I tell men not to eat pomegranate. If there was any misunderstanding, I apologize. I'll be more careful in the future. I'm sorry if you were very offended."

The reporter said, "He did apologize, but even if it's true that his child experienced that, I don't understand why he thought it was appropriate to mention it in this situation or what his intention was."