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'Culinary Class Wars' contestant King Bibim admits to illegally running restaurant
He was arrested and ordered to serve an eight-month probationary sentence in 2015.
November 04, 2024, 04:23 PM
Netflix cooking show "Culinary Class Wars" contestant, Yu Bibim, also known as King Bibim, revealed on his Instagram account that he had been illegally operating his bibimbap restaurant and has recently closed shop.
He'd posted a handwritten letter to social media on Nov. 1 and revealed that he was arrested and ordered to serve an eight-month probationary sentence in 2015 for illegally operating his restaurant, Bibim Sori, in Jeonju, South Korea.
"I've been involved in many business ventures, including street fruit and food stalls and even a hair salon, but failed each time, and in 2003, opened a restaurant without a permit," he said.
He was then given a suspended sentence, and closed the restaurant for a year.
However, Yu subsequently registered the business in his wife's name as he claimed he needed to support his family.
He operated it illegally and in a roundabout way as a performance and traditional Korean food experience venue "until recently".
"I pleaded with the public institutions and regulatory reform committees to lift these restrictions so I could run the restaurant legally, but I couldn't overcome the regulatory barriers," he wrote.
"I failed to achieve my goal, but I know full well that breaking the law for any reason cannot be justified. My wife and I couldn't have a single day of peace since I was thrust into the spotlight," he added.
As an apology, he decided to close the restaurant, and keep the old venue as a free exhibition place about Korea's bibim, or mixed food, culture.
Bibim Sori will reopen as a legal restaurant in Jeonju Hanok Village, Yu added.
"I apologise for disappointing you with my shortcomings. If I lived for the past 20 years to make a living, I will live for the next 20 years to promote the bibim culture of Korea," he concluded.
Made profits
During the court trial, Yu was said to have "disregarded the law several times over an extended period of time", Korean media reported.
He continued to operate illegally despite successive crackdowns, changed business owners to circumvent the law and accumulated hundreds of millions of won in net profits from his illegal business, the court said.
"The sentence should serve as a wake-up call."
Top photo via noodsyie/X
