Using Minors to Target Competitors for Business Suspension... Two Daejeon Business Owners Referred to Prosecution

Using Minors to Target Competitors for Business Suspension... Two Daejeon Business Owners Referred to Prosecutionn.news.naver.comRestaurant owners in the Daejeon area, who had minors consume alcohol and report them to the police in order to induce the business suspension of competing restaurants, have been referred to the prosecution. According to the Daejeon Yuseong Police Station on the 7th, the police [charged them with violations of the Telecommunications Business Act and the Youth Protection Act]
Using Minors to Target Competitors for Business Suspension... Two Daejeon Business Owners Referred to Prosecution
Reporter Yoo Hye-in
Published 2026.09.07. 10:28 AM
Contacted two youths via burner phones to order alcohol and report... Obstruction of business charges not referred
(Omitted)
Restaurant owners in the Daejeon area, who had minors consume alcohol and report them to the police in order to induce the business suspension of competing restaurants, have been referred to the prosecution.
According to the Daejeon Yuseong Police Station on the 7th, the police referred restaurant owners A and B, who are suspected of violating the Telecommunications Business Act and the Youth Protection Act, to the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office. The charges of obstruction of business, which were also applied to them, were not referred.
A and others are suspected of sending two minors to a raw fish restaurant in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, around 8:00 PM on November 17 last year, having them order alcohol, and then instructing them to report to the police. The raw fish restaurant in question was subsequently caught selling alcohol to minors and received a 3-day business suspension.
According to the police investigation, A and others were found to have used USIM cards opened under other people's names in mobile phone terminals to avoid detection by reports and tracking by investigative agencies. It was investigated that the terminal in question was purchased by an employee for 150,000 KRW through a secondhand trading platform.
(Omitted)
The police determined that the act of A and others using mobile communication lines under other people's names for the crime constitutes a violation of the Telecommunications Business Act.
However, they did not recognize the charge of obstruction of business. The police viewed that the minors did not engage in active deceptive behavior, such as telling the victimized owner they were adults or forging identification cards. They also considered that the owner selling alcohol has a legal obligation to verify the age of customers.
(Omitted)
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This is the news from Daejeon Ilbo this afternoon.