Four Chinese men vandalize Xi Jinping restaurant, flee to China — SkimNews
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- Four masked Chinese men stormed the Xi Jinping restaurant in Seongnam in the early hours of 24 September, smashing furniture and spraying lacquer before fleeing to Shanghai and Yantai.
- South Korean police identified the suspects as Chinese men aged 20-40 and said they plan to request Interpol red notices to detain the four pending extradition.
- The restaurant's owner told local media the name was chosen with "no political intent" — he wanted it to be "the best Chinese restaurant" in South Korea — and said demands for a name change only began about a year ago.
- Business people claiming to operate in China offered "large sums" to change the restaurant's name, with calls intensifying after Xi Jinping was announced to attend the APEC summit in South Korea last August.
- South Korea's Ministry of Intellectual Property dismissed an April complaint about a menu item called "Xi Jinping Special Rice," finding no trademark issues.
- The attack caused approximately 15 million won ($11,100; £8,400) in property damage — the largest incident in a year of escalating harassment — forcing the restaurant to close for five days; the owner says he is now considering a new name.
Why it matters: The vandalism marks the sharpest escalation of a year-long campaign to force the Seongnam restaurant to drop Xi's name, with the owner now openly considering rebranding after roughly $11,100 in damages and no administrative remedy available. The episode shows how Xi's name carries enough commercial and political weight among Chinese actors abroad to mobilize sustained pressure — including bribe offers and IP complaints — on a single small restaurant.
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