Restaurant Owner Threatens Legal Action Over Negative Food Review: What You Need to Know

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[Herald Economy=Reporter Na Eun-jung] A consumer says a restaurant owner threatened to sue them over a delivery review — and the claim has ignited controversy.

On March 25, a Seoul resident identified only as A posted on an online forum with the headline \”I was threatened with a lawsuit after leaving a delivery review,\” asking for advice.

According to A, his mother recently ordered daechang tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes topped with large beef intestines) through a delivery app. She was disappointed that the basic sausage topping was missing and felt the daechang’s quality was poor, so she left a one-star rating and a short comment. Without photos, she wrote, \”The daechang’s appearance is really off. I’ve never seen daechang tteokbokki like this.\”

But the restaurant objected to the review and hinted at legal action. After asking the delivery app to hide A’s comment, the restaurant replied, \”You write a lot of malicious comments—tons of one-star ratings for trivial reasons. Since we’re a corporate restaurant, we’ll prepare and file a lawsuit. We won’t just let this go.\”

A checked his mother’s review history and said, \”Out of 16 reviews, all but three or four are mostly four- or five-star ratings. She’s not someone who gives malicious low scores, but the restaurant made her out to be a ‘black consumer’ (a problematic customer).\”

He added, \”Objectively, the review didn’t include insults or slander—just a personal impression. Is it normal to threaten a lawsuit over a simple food review? My mother was really shocked and intimidated by the talk of a lawsuit.\”

Readers who saw the post rallied behind A with comments like, \”If she’s punished over this, it’s a violation of freedom of expression,\” \”From the business’s perspective it’s a bad review, but can you actually sue over that?\” \”I don’t think punishment is possible—if it were me I’d respond with false-accusation charges,\” and \”Don’t be intimidated by their ridiculous threats.\”

A replied that while the review might read negatively to some, it could help other consumers make informed choices. He said he told his mother to be more careful in future because her review could be perceived as subjective or potentially misleading.

The restaurant has since deleted the lawsuit-related comment it posted on the now-hidden review. A said, \”I wish there had been a photo of the meal. I told my mother to always take food photos from now on, and I encouraged her to seek an amicable resolution rather than using blunt language.\”