Street vendor suffers burns after customer throws food into boiling oil

This CCTV image shows a street vendor being scalded after a customer threw hotteok into the boiling oil. Captured from KBS News

By Jun Ji-hye

A street vendor in Daegu has suffered burns to her right hand, shoulder and chest after a customer threw hotteok (sweet pancake made from flour, brown sugar and seeds or nuts) into boiling oil after complaining about her refusal to cut it for him. The vendor called for harsh punishment of the customer.

According to the vendor, the customer bought two hotteok, Sept. 5, and asked her to cut them, saying that he wanted to share them with his friends. She refused the request, showing him a notice reading “no cutting,” on display in her booth.

Then, the customer threw the hotteok into boiling oil in front of the vendor, splashing the oil and burning her exposed skin.

“The customer glared at me even in front of the police officers who came to the scene. I want him to be punished sternly,” the vendor told a local daily newspaper, Segye Ilbo, Thursday. “After the incident, two friends of the customer appeared at my booth. One asked me for a refund, and the other complained again about my refusal to cut the hotteok for the customer.”

The vendor is currently hospitalized. “My doctor said he will make a decision on whether I need surgery this weekend or early next week. I don't know when I will be discharged from the hospital,” she said.

Local police are planning to investigate the case after the street vendor is discharged from the hospital.