Home > National > Social Affairs

Restaurant owner files police complaint after family's alleged dine and dash in Busan

Published: 16 Oct. 2025, 09:19

The image shows a large family finishing their meal in the area marked by a red dotted line before leaving the restaurant. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A group of nine family members allegedly left a restaurant in Busan without paying for a meal worth nearly 100,000 won ($70), prompting the owner to file a police complaint.

The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 at a gukbap (rice soup) restaurant in the southern city, according to a report on JTBC’s "Crime Chief" on Tuesday.

The restaurant owner said six adults — including an elderly couple — and three children ordered six bowls of gukbap, a plate of boiled pork slices and two servings of rice, for a total of 94,000 won.

After the meal, some of the men accompanied the elderly couple outside while a woman remained inside with the children. A man later returned, gathered the group’s belongings, and left the restaurant with the rest of the members without stopping at the counter to pay.

The owner said no one in the group even looked toward the register.

“It was the first time I’ve seen a large family dine and leave without paying,” the owner said. “I waited, thinking it might have been a mistake and that they would return, but a week has passed and there’s been no contact.”

The owner has filed a fraud complaint with police, who are investigating the incident.

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 SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]