Amid controversy over alleged "rip-off pricing" surrounding teppan squid sold at Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market in Jeju, the market merchants' association pushed back, calling the criticism malicious and untrue.
On the 23rd, Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market said in a press release, "When a customer selects a pre-grilled squid in front of the stall, we portion it on the spot, cook it, and put it straight into a takeout container," adding, "There is no way any part goes missing."
It added, "Looking at the recently posted teppan squid photo online, the most important body section and other parts are missing," and argued, "At the shop in question and others, closed-circuit (CC) TV facing the prep table is always operating, and related footage is saved and kept." The explanation was that the process is structured so that omitting any part of the squid during cooking is impossible.
The merchants' association said, "The grilled squid in the photo is clearly different in quantity from the actual product," adding, "Even at the smallest, the real product includes more than 10 pieces of body meat, which are not visible in the photo." It continued, "It appears the photo was taken after part of the food was eaten," and said, "There is no menu that sells only squid legs separately."
The merchants' association said it is reviewing legal action, noting, "If false information spreads, it could directly harm the livelihoods of merchants." It added, "Although the claims are not factual, we apologize to customers who visit the market for the inconvenience caused by the controversy."
The controversy began with a post an internet user uploaded to an online community. The internet user said on the 20th, "I recently ordered a medium teppan squid at a shop in Olle Market in Seogwipo, Jeju, and the portion was absurdly small for the price." The internet user said the medium teppan squid was purchased for 15,000 won.
The person said, "They were making a loud show with fire to draw attention, but when I actually received it, it seemed like they gave only half the squid," adding, "This is exactly how it looked when I opened it at the lodging. Others should make sure to check in front of them." In the photo released by the internet user, only a few squid legs and a smear of mayonnaise were captured on one side of a paper box.
In contrast, in the photo provided by the merchants' association, the amount of squid appears to be about twice as much as in the image uploaded by the internet user.
The post the internet user had uploaded to the online community has now been deleted.