Chinese Restaurant Targeted in Lacquer Attack Drops 'Xi Jinping' Name, Resumes Business

A Chinese restaurant in Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, which was targeted by a group of Chinese nationals with a so-called lacquer attack during the Chuseok holiday, has decided to drop the name of China's top leader from its trade name out of fear of additional damage and reopen after five days.

According to police and other sources, the owner of the affected Chinese restaurant changed the store's name to a general term that does not evoke a specific individual (''O-hyang'') and reopened today, the 29th.

The new sign is reportedly scheduled to be installed around next week.

The owner told the press, "We decided to change the store name because we were concerned about the possibility of further damage and judged that continuing to use the existing name after this incident could lead to social controversy."

However, the owner added that they did not request separate personal protection measures or strengthened patrols around the store.

To resume operations, the owner stated that they newly purchased chairs and fixtures damaged during the crime, compensated for the rental point-of-sale (POS) terminal, and rented it again to prepare for business.

The owner also said that all food ingredients worth 1 million won, suspected of being exposed to pesticides or insecticides, will be discarded.

Previously, four Chinese men in their 20s to 40s broke into the Chinese restaurant at around 2:40 AM on the 24th, the first day of the Chuseok holiday, sprayed lacquer and paint across the interior of the store, and sprinkled a substance presumed to be pesticide on the food ingredients before fleeing to China on the same day.

The police have identified their identities, applied for arrest warrants, and initiated international judicial cooperation procedures.

In addition, while waiting for the results of the food ingredient appraisal requested from the National Forensic Service, the police are also investigating its connection to a previous sign vandalism incident at the same restaurant that occurred last July.

(Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Kihyun Kim | Graphics by Sumin Lee | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.