[Newsmaker] Chinese restaurant owner accused of being front of Chinese secret police says allegations are ‘unfair’

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The owner of a Chinese restaurant in southern Seoul sought police protection on Thursday, denying media reports that he may be one of the foreign fronts of China’s secret police.

Holding a press conference at his Oriental Pearl Tower restaurant in Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, the owner, identified as Wang, called the allegations unfair.

The man said there will be another press conference on Saturday which journalists will have to pay to attend.

The restaurant (Oriental Pearl Tower) runs a genuine business, but the news report made it a talking point, Wang said. There is great interest in this issue and many have requested to attend (the press conference), but due to security concerns and space limitations we will only be accepting 100 journalists. In fairness, we will sell the tickets (for the press conference) at 30,000 won ($23) per person.

The owner of the Oriental Pearl Tower Chinese restaurant, which had been reported by local media as a front for Chinese secret police, rebuked what he said were ‘unfair’ allegations during a press conference outside his restaurant in Songpa-gu, southern Seoul, on Thursday. . (Yonhap)

Citing an unnamed intelligence source, Chosun Ilbo reported last Friday that Korean authorities were investigating suspicions that Wang’s location may be a local front for Chinese secret police.

The report came after a Madrid-based nonprofit group called Safeguard Defenders announced in early December that China was running at least 102 overseas policing centers in 53 countries, including South Korea, to monitor and silence critics of the Chinese Communist Party.

Laura Harth, campaign director for Safeguard Defenders, told the Korea Herald that South Korean authorities have yet to contact the nonprofit group for further information or cooperation.

Korean authorities have not yet contacted Safeguard Defenders, but we hope that the relevant Korean authorities will coordinate and exchange information with like-minded democratic partners around the world to ensure thorough investigations into transnational repression and operations. undue influence from China, she said. in an email interview.

Aides to two top lawmakers on the parliamentary intelligence committee – Rep. Kwon Seong-dong of the People’s Power Party and Rep. Youn Kun-young of the Democratic Party – told the Korea Herald they had no information about the survey reported.

Seoul Foreign Ministry officials told reporters they could not confirm anything.

The Chinese Embassy in Seoul has strongly protested the accusation that it runs secret police stations in South Korea, calling on the media to stop deliberately perpetuating groundless rumors.

A Chinese embassy spokesperson said last Friday that China adheres to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, strictly abides by international law and respects other countries’ judicial sovereignty.

The official added that Chinese security personnel and prosecutors have maintained a high level of cooperation with their South Korean counterparts by establishing close communication channels.

In an earlier briefing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson categorically denied the existence of overseas police stations.

Harth of Safeguard Defenders, however, says the group’s findings appear consistent with repeated statements by local Chinese public security authorities that these overseas policing centers were created in close collaboration with the United Front Work Department. , a CCP organization that seeks to influence various public and private sector entities outside of China, including but not limited to the political, business, and academic spheres.

The UFWD promotes efforts that align policies and activities with the interests of the CCP, and seeks to divide and silence critics of the CCP. It is obvious that any investigation from our report on overseas police stations should encompass both the broader issue of transnational repression as well as the other interferences these networks are engaged in on behalf of the CCP – including including, but not limited to, the Confucius Institutes, she said.

State-funded overseas Chinese cultural and language education centers called Confucius Institutes have closed in Western countries as U.S. and European authorities viewed them as fronts for Chinese propaganda, monitoring Chinese overseas students and collecting high-level academic information.

There are 23 Confucius Institutes in South Korea, 22 of which are in national or private universities.

Regarding recent allegations regarding the Songpa-based Chinese restaurant, a rumor has surfaced that South Korean talent agency Fantagio – best known for managing singer and actor Cha Eun-woo – was involved in its working. The suspicion stems from the fact that a person allegedly involved in the operation of the restaurant had previously been an outside manager for the South Korean agency.

Fantagio released an official statement on Thursday denying those suspicions.

Wang said he ran Chinese restaurants in Garibong-dong, Seoul and Bucheon in Gyeonggi Province before expanding into travel, interior construction and media.

The restaurant on a floating island in the Han River is registered as a branch of HG Culture Media, which is headquartered on the ninth floor of a building on the street opposite the National Assembly in Yeoui-do.

The restaurant, which suffered poor reviews on Naver, said it would only operate until the end of December, after last week’s report.

Opened in 2018, the restaurant recorded operating losses of 230 million won in 2018 and 686 million won in 2019. In 2019, its outstanding debt ($1.32 billion) was more than double the value of its assets (559 million).

By Kim So-hyun and Yoon Min-sik ([email protected])([email protected]

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