A restaurant in South Korea named after Xi Jinping has been ransacked by several suspected Chinese nationals after facing pressure to change its name for over a year.
The four suspects, all wearing masks, arrived at the restaurant at about 2.40am on Sept 24, covering the building in spray paint and destroying some of the furniture.
They sprayed suspected pesticide on some food in the kitchen and covered the restaurant’s sign board in black lacquer.
The four men, between the ages of 20 and 40, are believed to have fled to China. South Korean police have issued arrest warrants for the four men and are planning to request red notices from Interpol.
The owner of the restaurant in Seongnam, near Seoul, said he named the restaurant after the Chinese president to “be memorable” and for his establishment “to be the best Chinese restaurant”. He told local media: “There was no political intent.”
Now it appears the pressure has become too much. In a development this week, the owner said in a phone interview with the JoongAng Ilbo: “I went to the district office this morning and filed a report to change the restaurant’s name.”
The four suspects vandalised the Chinese restaurant in the early hours of Sept 24
For eight years, the restaurant had operated in peace, receiving generally good ratings on Naver, South Korea’s most popular online platform.
However, last August, before Mr Xi’s visit to South Korea, it started facing pressure to change its name.
The owner, named only as Mr A, said he received as many as 40 phone calls to that effect, all from local South Korean numbers, with some people even offering him money if he complied.
South Korean police told local media that at one point the restaurant was offered hundreds of millions of won (100m won is about £55,800).
“People claiming to run businesses in China proposed large sums if we changed the name. They asked for our business registration details but didn’t disclose theirs,” he said.
The name of the restaurant was covered in black lacquer
Eventually, people started turning up. “If one person failed, another would come. They were persistent,” the owner said.
He told Korean reporters that at one point a man claiming to be a journalist covering the Chinese embassy told him to take down the signboard.
“Using the Chinese president’s name as a business name could cause diplomatic issues,” the purported journalist said.
The restaurant had been facing concerted pressure to change its name
In April, a complaint was also filed with South Korea’s ministry of intellectual property over the restaurant’s names and a rice dish on the menu called Xi Jinping Special Rice. The ministry ultimately found no evidence and closed the case.
The vandalism incident is the most serious problem to date, forcing the restaurant to close for five days and incurring damages of about 15m won (£8,400).
This year, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit will be hosted in the Chinese city of Shenzhen and Lee Jae-myung, the South Korean president, is expected to attend.
Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.
Dining and Cooking