Fury Over Moldy 'Celebrity Cake' Apology... Cafe Issues Another Apology Ultimately

Published 06 Mar.2021 14:14(KST)

Updated 06 Mar.2021 14:18(KST)

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Controversial 'Mold Cake' Photo. / Photo by Online Community Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] A cafe famous for the so-called 'Solbi Cake' has been embroiled in a moldy cake controversy. As the controversy spread, the cafe posted an apology, but after receiving harsh criticism from netizens due to inappropriate expressions, they posted a second apology.

On the 5th, the cafe's social media (SNS) posted a second apology stating, "We sincerely apologize once again. We hastily posted a written explanation of the situation, which caused further misunderstandings and made our customers more uncomfortable. We are truly sorry."

This cafe, known as a studio cafe chain opened by singer and artist Solbi in her personal studio, stated, "This is not an attempt to shift responsibility onto part-timers or employees, regardless of whether the cakes were for exhibition or sale. We take full responsibility for this incident." They bowed their heads and said, "We sincerely apologize once again and promise that such an unfortunate incident will never happen again."

Second Apology from the Cafe / Photo by Cafe SNS Capture

Earlier on the 5th, an online community post titled "I paid for mold and my children ate it" was published. The author, Mr. A, stated that he purchased a cake from a cafe on the 1st and ate it with his mother-in-law, mother-in-law's mother, and children at his in-laws' house. After noticing a strange taste, he cut into the cake and realized it was full of mold. He immediately complained to the cafe the next day.

Mr. A said, "The cafe owner said, 'We sold a display item,' and 'The display item is not for sale, but it was a mistake.' However, when I bought the cake, other cakes for sale were also displayed in the same showcase as the moldy cake," criticizing, "Where do you think all the floating mold spores went?"

He continued, "The owner only made excuses, saying things are tough these days, and then suggested settling for just a few hundred thousand won," adding, "I said my 13-month-old youngest child ate it, but they didn't even ask about the child's condition." Eventually, angry and storming out, Mr. A said the owner promised to discuss and contact him but ended up offering 2 million won, saying it was too difficult beyond that. Mr. A pointed out, "Half of that 2 million won was in cafe gift certificates."

Mr. A appealed, "All my family members are vomiting and having diarrhea," and said, "As ordinary people, all we can do is report this to the health center, city hall, and consumer complaint center."

On the 5th, the cafe apologized for the 'moldy cake' controversy through SNS. However, the post was criticized by netizens for seemingly shifting the responsibility of the incident onto the consumer and part-time worker. / Photo by Cafe SNS capture

As the controversy spread, the cafe posted on SNS the same day, "On March 1st, the display of exhibition cakes and cakes for sale in the showcase was not clearly distinguished, so customers mistakenly thought the exhibition cakes were for sale and wanted to purchase them," and apologized, saying, "Our part-time employee also failed to distinguish them, resulting in the accidental sale of a damaged exhibition cake."

They added, "We held the manager responsible for the problematic area and conducted employee training. We sincerely apologize once again to our customers who trust us and purchase our products," and said, "We will provide compensation to the purchasing customer."

However, netizens became even more furious at the cafe's apology, accusing them of labeling consumers as black consumers (malicious consumers) and shifting responsibility onto part-time workers. Netizens criticized, "If even the employees can't distinguish, how can consumers?" and "The problem was putting exhibition and sale cakes in the same space in the first place."