![[AI-generated image]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/05/news-p.v1.20260605.a7b6251e8dfc47e69508ba617182ba67_P1.png)
A worker who reported his former employer's illegal gambling to police says he was doused with fermented fish sauce nine times in retaliation, stirring controversy.
According to JTBC's "Sageon Banjang," which aired Wednesday, a man identified only as A, who works at a valet parking company in Gangnam, Seoul, said his former boss has been subjecting him to a campaign of harassment.
A said his former boss would summon employees to the office to gamble, with at least one worker losing 700,000 won (about $458) in a single session. When A warned the boss that the activity could get him into serious trouble, the boss snapped back, "What do you know?"
A then alerted his coworkers not to respond to the gambling summons and reported the matter to police, after which he moved to a nearby valet parking company.
Even after the job change, the former boss kept showing up. According to A, the man demanded a "toll" for walking past his old workplace and repeatedly threw or poured cups of "kanari aekjeot" — a pungent fermented sand lance sauce — on him. The attacks happened nine times in total.
"On the days I was hit with the fish sauce, the smell was so bad I couldn't take public transit, so I had to walk more than 10 kilometers home," A said. The former boss continued the harassment even after receiving multiple fines.
"He keeps showing up and, honestly, I'm scared. He even threatened me with his car," A said. "He told me, 'I'll just ram you with my car and handle it through insurance.' That line keeps running through my head — I haven't been able to go to work for two days."
A filed a stalking complaint with police and was issued a smartwatch safety device. The former boss countered with a false-accusation complaint, claiming A had fabricated the stalking charges. With both sides having filed complaints, a court issued a mutual restraining order along with a recommendation to settle.
The former boss denied to the program that any illegal gambling had taken place. He claimed A had bullied coworkers so severely that three employees quit, and that after leaving, A poached several clients and tried to take over his business. "I threw the fish sauce because he was interfering with my operations," he said.
A rejected those claims. "I never took any clients, and I never expanded any business," he said. "I just want to live quietly and in peace. I'm begging him to stop."
dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com
