Four Chinese nationals vandalized Chinese restaurant ‘Xi Jinping’ in Bundang, police say

The name “Xi Jinping” was barely visible under a coat of black spray paint.

Broken glass and damaged equipment marked the aftermath of a break-in that police say was carried out by four Chinese nationals outside the Chinese restaurant in Budang District in Seongnam, Gyeonggi.

The four had allegedly broken into the restaurant in the early hours of Thursday, the first day of the long Chuseok holiday, and carried out what police say was an attack involving spray paint and pesticides.

Cans, onions and a handcart were scattered across the floor behind the restaurant’s locked glass doors. Yellow police tape blocked an outside entrance to the kitchen.

“There are hardly any Chinese restaurants in the neighborhood, and the place was clean, so I went there two or three times a month even though it was a little pricey,” a local resident said. “There is a fair amount of traffic on the roads on either side of the restaurant, but hardly any cars or people pass directly in front of it in the early morning. It makes me wonder whether whoever did this knew the neighborhood well.”

The Bundang Police Station has identified four Chinese men suspected of the attack and is pursuing them, according to the police on Sunday.

The four allegedly took a taxi together to their lodgings in Seoul after the attack and later left Korea through Incheon International Airport for destinations in China, including Yantai and Shanghai.

Police found an empty pesticide container and several insecticide containers at the scene and requested an analysis from the National Forensic Service after suspecting the poison could have been sprayed onto the food ingredients.

Investigators are examining whether the suspects targeted the restaurant because its name matches that of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“When the restaurant first opened, people in the neighborhood used to wonder whether it was really okay to use Xi Jinping’s name for a business,” a local resident said. “The restaurant operated for years without any major problems, so I thought it must have been fine. But when I saw the news, I thought, ‘It finally happened.’”

“The restaurant’s owner plans to change the restaurant’s name from ‘Xi Jinping’ to something else,” a manager of the commercial property said.

Police opened an investigation after the owner reported at around 8:30 a.m. that “someone broke into the restaurant and damaged fixtures inside.”

Investigators traced the suspects’ movements using CCTV footage and identified the four suspects. By then, however, the suspects had already left Korea on morning flights.

Police found that the suspects had entered Korea without visas on two separate occasions, about a month and about a week before the attack. Police believe the suspects learned in advance that the restaurant would be closed during the Chuseok holiday and planned the attack accordingly.

The owner told investigators there was “nothing that would have given anyone in China a reason to hold a grudge.”

The owner had operated the restaurant under the same name for eight years but said protest calls and visits over the name had begun several months ago. Someone also defaced the restaurant’s sign with black spray paint about two months ago, and the owner reported it to the police.

Police plan to continue the investigation through international judicial cooperation. Determining the exact motive could take considerable time because the four suspects have dispersed to different parts of China.

BY LEE AH-MI [[email protected]]