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Namdong District fines fried chicken shop owner for illegal LED sign

Published: 23 Feb. 2026, 20:29

Left: A fried chicken restaurant displays a light-emitting diode, or LED, sign thanking citizens for the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol in Namdong District, Incheon; Right: Online comments show reactions from the public to the chicken shop's sign. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The owner of a franchised fried chicken restaurant who publicly celebrated the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol via a message on an electronic display board in front of the shop has been fined by the local district office.

The district sent the owner an advance notice that it will levy an 800,000 won ($560) coercive fine for installing an illegal light-emitting diode, or LED, display board, according to Namdong District in Incheon on Monday.

The fine will be imposed on the owner if they do not fix the sign by March 6.

The district government had previously told the owner to voluntarily adjust the sign so that it complies with the law and delivered the notice when the owner failed to do so. The fine will be imposed if the sign remains unchanged by March 6.

Under an Incheon ordinance governing outdoor advertisements, electronic display boards are subject to strict standards. They must be installed only on the wall next to a first-floor entrance of a building with a total floor area of at least 5,000 square meters (53,820 square feet) and show only still images no larger than 4 square meters.

Officials determined the restaurant’s display board violated those rules.

“After receiving a complaint, we confirmed the sign was illegal and issued a corrective order and an advance notice of a coercive fine,” a district official said. “As long as [the display board] remains unfixed, we can continue imposing the fine up to twice a year.”

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, behind, listens to a judge deliver his sentence during a first-instance verdict hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Feb. 19. The court sentenced him to life in prison for leading an insurrection through his imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. [SEOUL CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT]

The restaurant drew attention on April 4, 2025 — shortly after the Constitutional Court upheld Yoon’s impeachment and removed him from office — when it displayed a message at the entrance that read, “‘The accused, Yoon Suk Yeol, is removed from office.’ Thank you, citizens.”

Photos of the sign later spread across online communities, with some of Yoon’s supporters posting malicious and one-star reviews of the restaurant. The owner subsequently posted an apology, saying the message was inappropriate and expressing regret for causing controversy.

The franchise headquarters notified the owner that it would terminate the franchise agreement but reportedly reversed that decision when the matter grew into a political controversy.

The owner also reported to police in August 2025 that a customer assaulted them after they displayed a message commemorating the Sewol ferry disaster on the sign.

The Sewol ferry disaster refers to the capsizing of the Sewol ferry on April 16, 2014, when a passenger ferry capsized and sank en route from Incheon to Jeju. The tragedy resulted in the deaths of 304 people, most of whom were high school students on a field trip.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]