False Report of "Selling Imported Beef as Korean Beef"
Case Publicized by Media Coverage
Last year's report that "a 5-star hotel in Daegu was selling yukhoe mixed with imported beef as 'Korean beef yukhoe'" was revealed to be a false tip-off by a hotel chef who held a grudge over a resignation recommendation.
On the 14th, Yonhap News reported that the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office Criminal Division 3 (Chief Prosecutor Nam Gye-sik) arrested and indicted former hotel chef A (42) on charges of false accusation, obstruction of business, and defamation for falsely reporting to investigative agencies and the media that a 5-star hotel was selling imported beef as Korean beef.
According to the prosecution, A, who worked as a Korean cuisine chef at a 5-star hotel in Daegu, filed a false complaint last August with the National Ombudsman stating that "the hotel labels imported beef as Korean beef and sells it." In September of the same year, he also testified to related investigative agencies that "under the direction of the head of the Korean buffet section, imported and domestic beef were mixed and served."
A was found to have filed a false complaint with the National Ombudsman and, before inspections, mixed Korean beef into lunch buffet ingredients that only used Australian beef, leading an unaware employee to prepare yukhoe, which resulted in the inspection. When the beef sample test results showed a "mixture," he reported this fact to the media in October last year, causing it to be publicized. The Gyeongbuk branch of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, which collected samples twice undercover at the hotel, referred the hotel to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment. Additionally, A filed a complaint with the Labor Office alleging workplace harassment by the hotel.
However, the prosecution's investigation revealed that all of A's complaints and reports were false. After receiving a resignation recommendation due to frequent tardiness, unauthorized absences, and sexual harassment of female employees, A committed these crimes out of resentment. The prosecution, suspicious of the claim that Korean beef was mixed in the yukhoe served at the lunch buffet that only provided Australian beef, and noting inconsistencies and contradictions in A's statements, conducted an investigation that ultimately uncovered the full details of A's wrongdoing.
A Daegu District Prosecutors' Office official emphasized, "Going forward, the prosecution will strictly respond with a zero-tolerance policy to malicious judicial obstruction such as false accusations to ensure that innocent citizens are not wrongfully punished."
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