Pregnant woman’s accusation of Chaesundang worker found to be false

By Yi Whan-woo

Police said Monday that the alleged assault of a pregnant customer by a waitress at a franchise restaurant earlier this month was false, reversing the woman’s claim that provoked the online community here.

The investigators said the 33-year-old pregnant woman apologized for lying after being questioned alongside the Chaesundang restaurant employee at Cheonan police station, South Chungcheong Province, Saturday.

“I never thought my reckless words on the Internet would grow into a serious incident,” the customer said. “I sincerely apologize to the waitress and Chaesundang.”

The customer surnamed Yu initially posted a message in cyberspace that the waitress, 45, attacked her for complaining about the service at the shabu-shabu restaurant chain in Cheonan on Feb 17.

According to Yu, the waitress treated her poorly, and Yu muttered some abusive words on her way out of the restaurant after finishing her meal with her 10-year-old niece. She added the waitress surnamed Hong approached her, pushing Yu’s back and kicking her in the stomach.

The six-month pregnant woman’s posting brought collective anger from netizens against Chaesundang, which has more than 200 local outlets across the country. The franchise operator made an apology on its website with a notice that it would shut down the outlet immediately.

It then made its own investigation by reviewing surveillance camera footage of the incident. The company concluded that the pregnant woman instead kicked the waitress in the stomach after starting a fistfight.

The police brought in both Yu and Hong for questioning resulting in the customer confessing to the false claim.