Review Bombing Targets Restaurant That Shared CCTV Footage
"I'm Afraid the Owner Might Report Me"
"No Business Ethics Despite High Sales"
Odongwoon, the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, is responding to a lawmaker's question during an emergency issue inquiry related to the illegal riot incident at the Seoul Western District Court held at the National Assembly plenary session on the 23rd. Photo by Kim Hyunmin
The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (HCIC) held a dinner gathering on the same day it filed an arrest warrant request against President Yoon Seok-yeol, and the restaurant in question is now facing a 'review bombing' attack.
According to the Kakao Map application on the 24th, the A restaurant located in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, received one-star ratings along with protest comments from netizens. As of 4 p.m., the average rating was 1.4 stars, and reviews sharply increased after reports emerged that the HCIC held a dinner there. Reviewers left critical comments such as "The restaurant leaked CCTV footage to the media," "I'm afraid the owner might report me as a spy, so I won't go," "I'm worried my personal information will be leaked if I visit here," and "The food is bad, but HCIC prosecutors bought a lot; they have no business ethics."
Gyeonggi-do Government Gwacheon Complex, Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. Photo by Jo Yong-jun
Earlier, some media outlets reported that the HCIC leadership and some members of the investigation team visited the A restaurant around 6:20 p.m. on the 17th and dined there for about an hour. That day was the same day the HCIC filed the arrest warrant request against President Yoon. The HCIC explained, "We ordered two bottles of beer and some soft drinks, and only Director Odong-woon and Deputy Director Lee Jae-seung drank the wine and beer that were brought in. No investigation team member consumed alcohol; it was a gesture to encourage doing their best in executing the warrant. The meal expenses were paid using specific operational funds."
When Director Oh was questioned about this during an emergency parliamentary inquiry on the 23rd, he responded, "It was mainly a dinner gathering to encourage the staff," and added, "It is true that I poured a glass of wine each for our staff who usually do not drink wine." He continued, "Two days earlier (January 15), during the execution of the arrest warrant, Chief Prosecutor Cha Jeong-hyun went under a bus, and we talked about the very difficult situations we faced," explaining, "It was a gathering to commend such hard work." While apologizing if it appeared somewhat inappropriate to the public, he said, "It was to encourage our staff, and I have no regrets about that gathering."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
