It was reported on the 20th that self-employed individuals participating in 'prepaid' payments by anonymous sponsors for food or coffee for those attending impeachment protests and rallies are complaining of being harassed by 'rating terror.' Despite offering more food and coffee than the prepaid amount, some guests who received this for free are expressing dissatisfaction.
A restaurant in Yeouido participating in prepaid payments noted that their rating on Kakao's map service 'KakaoMap' dropped from a perfect score of 5 points to 1.3 points within two weeks. Before martial law on Dec. 12-3, there were only seven reviews, but over 100 reviews have been posted since the impeachment protest. Most of the ratings are the lowest score of 1 point.
Restaurant owner Kim (31) mentioned on the 18th that upon checking, a post saying 'Do not go to this restaurant' was shared over 4,000 times on Twitter. Kim said, '(The anonymous sponsor) prepaid an amount, and we provided meals and drinks on our own expense beyond that, yet we even heard people say they'd sue.' Kim added, 'Yeouido often has many protests, so we've had police preferences, but it's as if they say you favor the police and block the protesters.' and speculated, 'It seems even those who did not visit left reviews.'
A bakery that received 5 million won in prepaid payment from an anonymous sponsor faced similar issues. Store owner Park (43) stated, 'The prepaid payment was limited to coffee, but individuals in line who only wanted to buy bread demanded coffee, saying they were part of the protesters too.' Park added, 'When we gave them coffee, the people in line where the coffee was supposed to be distributed complained, asking why that side got it faster.'
Park mentioned, 'I even heard people questioning if the prepaid coffee was really all used up,' and added, 'The sponsor receives an alert, so it's impossible to deceive them.' Moreover, 'We provided 1,500 hand warmers at our own expense to protesters enduring the cold weather, yet the prepaid coffee even led to a complaint filed with the e-People portal.'
'Prepayment' is a method where an anonymous sponsor pays a restaurant or cafe in advance, allowing protest and rally participants to have free meals or drinks. Anyone can receive a free meal or drink by mentioning predetermined names like 'Yeouido' or 'Kim Minjoo' at a prepaid restaurant or cafe. Singers IU, Girls’ Generation member Yuri, and New Jeans have also participated in prepayment.