"Did you contact me because you wanted something?"... Caught swapping wines, Ahn Sung-jae's 'Mosu' style apology [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

Ahn Sung-jae, the chef who operates the Michelin 2-star restaurant Mosu Seoul (hereinafter Mosu), has issued an official apology regarding the 'wine swapping' controversy, while the original poster A, who exposed the damage, has released a further statement.

On the morning of the 24th, a post titled "I am the author of the Mosu wine issue post" was published on a Naver cafe.

First, A emphasized, "As stated in the previous post, I clarify that the content below is based on facts. It was written based on materials such as call and message records and call recordings."

Shortly after, he said, "I checked the apology posted on Mosu's official Instagram on the 23rd" and reorganized the timeline regarding the Mosu sommelier's 'wine swapping' behavior. A stated, "I visited Mosu on the evening of April 18, had a meal, and the (wine swapping) issue occurred. As written in the previous post, there was no apology from Mosu's side on that day."

He also revealed that he attempted to contact Mosu's side and had a conversation on the 21st, just before posting the article. A said, "I requested an explanation of the incident and confirmation of the circumstances. After confirming with the sommelier, I received an apology from Mosu's side."

He then conveyed the content of the call, stating, "Mosu's side asked me, 'Did you contact me because you wanted something?' and I replied, 'I did not contact you to seek compensation.'"

After this call, he posted articles on two Naver cafes. A explained, "I wrote the posts with the hope that similar incidents would not be repeated at Mosu or other restaurants."

After the post became a topic of discussion, he also revealed the content of a conversation with Mosu's side on the afternoon of the 23rd. At that time, Mosu's side had contacted him first.

A said, "Mosu's side contacted me first. Regarding the content of the post I wrote, I received an apology from Mosu's side stating, 'Everything is true, and there is no room for any excuse.' I was offered a meal invitation, but I made it clear that I declined. As mentioned above, I am not seeking compensation, and even if I were to go for a meal again, it would be an uncomfortable situation for my party, including myself, and all the staff serving us."

Following this process with A, an apology was posted on Mosu's official Instagram account on the night of the 23rd: "We sincerely apologize for the confusion caused by the lack of accurate guidance to the customer during the wine pairing service process and for failing to provide sufficient explanation during the subsequent response process, which caused great disappointment. After the incident occurred, we conveyed a separate apology to the customer, and although they accepted it generously, we are taking seriously the fact that this process was not sufficient given the expectations sent to our restaurant."

Additionally, regarding the question of "Why was there no objection raised immediately on the day of the meal?", A said, "As written in the previous post, I did not want to ruin the pleasant atmosphere of the meal. Although I expressed in the previous post that they were 'friends I truly cherish,' it was a meal with senior colleagues."

Regarding suspicions from some quarters that "Did you contact Mosu or post on the cafe for the purpose of compensation?", A dismissed it, saying, "During the call with Mosu before posting on the cafe, I clearly stated, 'I did not contact you to seek compensation.' I have never mentioned anything related to compensation."

Furthermore, regarding the question of "Was there a separate apology as stated in Mosu's apology post?", A answered, "Yes. There was no apology on the day of the meal."

He reiterated, "Regarding the content of the post I wrote, I received an apology from Mosu's side stating, 'Everything is true, and there is no room for any excuse.'"

Meanwhile, Ahn Sung-jae, who operates Mosu, is well-known as a judge on the OTT Netflix cooking survival series 'Black and White Chef Lisa' and is also the only chef in Korea to receive a Michelin 3-star rating.

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*This content was translated by AI.