As controversy grew after a cafe in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong District, Seoul, posted a notice saying it would not accept Chinese customers, Seongdong District Chief Jeong Won-o said the cafe resumed accepting Chinese customers after he persuaded them.
Appearing on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" that day, Jeong said of the cafe at the center of the controversy, "After we (Seongdong District) and local merchants spoke with the cafe, the notice (banning Chinese entry) in the store was removed," adding, "They are not blocking Chinese people from entering."
Earlier, a cafe near Seoul Forest drew controversy after announcing recently that it would not accept Chinese customers. On Instagram, it wrote, "We're sorry, we do not accept Chinese guests." A Chinese influencer living in Korea criticized the cafe, saying, "I do not understand why this country (China) is so hated."
In response, Jeong said on X (formerly Twitter), "I will do my best to persuade the establishment." Afterward, Seongdong District officials and representatives of nearby merchants reportedly met the cafe owner.
However, as of 1 p.m. that day, the cafe's Instagram post saying it would not accept Chinese customers remained unchanged. Jeong said, "It is still on social media, but there was word from the owner asking for a few days," adding, "It is preferable for the owner to do it personally, so we are waiting."
Regarding the cafe owner's decision to ban Chinese customers, Jeong said, "A Chinese customer was on the phone in Chinese, and when another customer complained, the owner seems to have said to the Chinese customer, 'I'm sorry,'" noting it appeared the entry ban on Chinese customers was meant to prevent situations in which other customers complain about "nuisance" behavior by Chinese customers in the store.
Jeong said, "Within a week after the (Chinese entry ban), a movement to boycott tourism to Seongsu-dong arose in China," adding, "Negative sentiment toward Korea also spread on Reddit, the U.S. online community."
He went on, "This incident is a process of building a social consensus (that we should not take measures like a 'ban on Chinese entry')," adding, "When soccer player Son Heung-min was subjected to racist behavior in Britain in the past, Britain banned that spectator from entry and also imposed a fine."
Meanwhile, in July 2019, when the Japanese government restricted exports of three core semiconductor materials to Korea, Jeong joined the so-called "No No Japan" movement. At the time, on his blog, Jeong wrote, "Fifty-two local governments, including Seongdong District, formed the Local Government Council for Joint Response to Japan's Export Controls, refused official business trips to Japanese regions, and decided to actively support and join citizens' boycotts of Japanese products and boycotts of travel to Japan."