In the city of Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, a Chinese restaurant named after the Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping was recently vandalized by intruders. Confirming reports from South Korean media outlets such as Yonhap News Agency and The Korea Herald, the local police stated that the four individuals involved in the incident were Chinese citizens who have since fled back to China.
According to the officials from the Bundang Police Station, the incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday, September 24th, when four Chinese men in their twenties to forties broke into the restaurant around 2:40 am. They proceeded to spray red and black paint on the walls and furniture of the restaurant, as well as spraying an unidentified substance believed to be pesticides on the food ingredients in the kitchen.
At the scene, authorities discovered an empty pesticide container and several containers of insecticide. The restaurant’s name, “Xi Jinping,” was largely obscured by a layer of black spray paint, making it difficult to identify.
Wearing masks and hats to conceal their identities, the individuals spent approximately an hour inside the restaurant before taking a taxi back to their accommodation in Seoul and then departing from Incheon International Airport. Officials suspect that they have fled to the cities of Yantai and Shanghai in China.
The restaurant owner reported the incident to the police around 8:30 am on Thursday, triggering an investigation. Using CCTV footage, the police tracked the movements of the perpetrators and confirmed their identities in the afternoon of the same day. However, by that time, the individuals had already departed South Korea on a morning flight.
Investigators suggest that the restaurant became a target due to its controversial name. The owner revealed to local media that he had been receiving protest calls and visits related to the restaurant’s name in recent months, with a previous incident of vandalism occurring two months prior. Following the spray-paint incident, law enforcement found it challenging to identify the suspect due to the lack of complete tracking of their movements.
A manager of the commercial property where the restaurant is located mentioned that the owner intends to change the restaurant’s name from “Xi Jinping.”
A local resident expressed surprise at the use of Xi Jinping’s name for the restaurant, remarking on the lack of issues during its years of operation but reflecting on the inevitability of such an incident happening eventually.
Regarding the vandalism incident on Thursday, the police investigation revealed that the individuals entered South Korea twice within the month leading up to the incident, on tourist visas, and were active within the country. It appears they carried out the vandalism operation upon learning that the restaurant would temporarily close during the Chuseok holiday (Mid-Autumn Festival in mainland China).