A post spread online claiming a customer at a sushi restaurant in Yongsan District, Seoul, asked for "chodaeri," a vinegar sauce for sushi rice, but was given bleach instead and received no apology. As the controversy grew, the restaurant acknowledged "poor management" and apologized.
According to online communities on the 10th, a post recently circulated on social media (SNS) saying a diner nearly drank bleach while eating at a sushi restaurant in Yongsan District. The poster, identified as A, said the person visited the restaurant with colleagues, ordered sashimi and sushi rice, and then asked for extra chodaeri.
A said, "At first, when I received it (the chodaeri), there was no smell, but the moment I mixed it into the rice, the odor rose," adding, "It turned out to be bleach." When A's party alerted an employee, the restaurant said the chodaeri container and the bleach container seemed to have been switched. When A complained to the owner, the owner reportedly replied, "I'm sorry. But how should I apologize (further)?"
A said, "If I had eaten this, I would have been getting my stomach pumped in the emergency room, but fortunately I didn't, so I'm alive." A said the party then received newly prepared dishes, paid the entire bill of about 230,000 won including the sashimi, and left. A added, "I posted this hoping the same thing won't happen to someone else."
As the controversy snowballed, A said in a follow-up post that the situation had been resolved. A noted, "All personal settlements were concluded amicably, and the district office reportedly inspected the restaurant," adding, "The owner also said the store would close to conduct a full inspection and staff training."
The restaurant also posted a handwritten official apology on Instagram the previous day. The owner of the sushi restaurant said, "As the owner, I bear full responsibility for the fact that such an incident occurred at the store," and added, "I contacted the customer directly and apologized again. Through this incident, I deeply feel that management was severely lacking."
The owner added, "We will comprehensively reexamine hygiene management and operating procedures at the store and manage them thoroughly," and said, "If there are inspections or measures by the relevant authorities, we will faithfully comply, and we will operate the store with a sense of responsibility so that the same thing does not happen again."