Restaurant named after Chinese president targeted, with suspects fleeing on same day
A Chinese restaurant in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, named Xi Jinping after China’s top leader, was vandalized with lacquer and paint, allegedly by a group of Chinese nationals.
The Bundang Police Station said Tuesday that four Chinese men ranging in age from their 20s to 40s allegedly broke into the restaurant at around 2:40 a.m. Thursday and sprayed red and black lacquer and paint across the walls, furniture and other surfaces throughout the restaurant.
The men are also suspected of spraying pesticide on food ingredients in the restaurant’s kitchen.
The suspects, wearing masks and hats to conceal their faces, reportedly spent about an hour vandalizing the restaurant. They then took a taxi to where they were staying in Seoul before heading to Incheon Airport and leaving the country. They are believed to have fled to Yantai and Shanghai in China, officials said.
Police are investigating the four for damages and related offenses and plan to seek international judicial cooperation in the case.
Investigators said the restaurant might have been targeted because of its name.
The restaurant owner told a local news outlet that he had received a series of protest calls and visits over the restaurant’s name in recent months.
"Two months ago, someone sprayed black paint on the restaurant’s sign and fled. I reported it to police, but was told they had difficulty tracking the suspect because they could not fully trace the person’s movements," the owner said.
cjh@heraldcorp.com