VIP visit to Busan fish cake shop sends business through the roof

Social Affairs

Published: 11 Dec. 2023, 16:40

VIP visit to Busan fish cake shop sends business through the roof

Jangwooson Busan Fishcake's Naver Shopping main website shows Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong during his visit on Wednesday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Business is booming at a Busan fish cake shop where President Yoon Suk Yeol shared some simple Korean street food with Samsung Electronics chief Lee Jae-yong and other top Korean business leaders during a recent visit.

Jangwooson Busan Fishcake, situated at the Bupyeong Kkangtong Market, has intensified its marketing efforts following the visit.

The store featured a picture of Samsung Electronics’ Lee, wearing a smile during his visit, on its Naver Shopping main website under the heading “The fish cake for Korea’s VIPs.”

The owner of the fish cake store even shared a photo on his Instagram of Lee taking a bite from his fish cake, skewered on a toothpick.

Samsung's Lee has drawn the most public attention of the VIPs who visited the market that day.

A picture capturing Lee’s whimsical expression as he gestured to hush the crowd at the market quickly became an overnight meme.

The heads of Korea's huge family-operated conglomerates, especially Samsung, rarely appear at traditional markets and engage with everyday shoppers.

According to SME and Startups Minister Lee Young, who was present at the scene, Lee’s popularity has soared, with some enthusiasts even calling out his name and asking to take selfies with him.

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong was pictured making a shushing gesture during his visit to Bupyeong Kkangtong Market on Wednesday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

“As people were asking to take photos and shake hands everywhere they went, Lee might have made the gesture to ask people to lower their voices since the president was around,” the minister speculated.

In the video captured at the market, the Samsung Electronics chief also expresses his genuine enjoyment of the popular street food, tteokbokki, and subsequently requests another serving of fish cake soup.
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Lee was part of an entourage of Korean business executives that included LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon, Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae, SK Group Executive Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won, Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, and HD Hyundai Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun that accompanied President Yoon on Wednesday.

Yoon’s visit took place a week after Busan lost its bid to host the World Expo in 2030 to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The day after the loss, Yoon publicly apologized while reiterating his commitment to the ongoing development of the southern port city.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]