Chef Ahn Sung-jae, facing criticism over accountability related to the wine swap controversy. Provided by Netflix

The wine-focused YouTuber ‘Wine King’ defined the wine controversy at the two-Michelin-star ‘Mosu Seoul’ as ‘wine fraud’ (Wine Fraud).

On the 3rd, Wine King released a video titled ‘There will be more victims’ on his YouTube channel, declaring, “This act constitutes wine fraud. It is a criminal act that occurs frequently on an international level.”

Wine King identified the ‘first-floor guest’ as the biggest victim, rather than the customer who filed the claim. He said, “The biggest victim in the Mosu wine fraud case is not the second-floor guest who raised the issue, but the first-floor guest who had quietly ordered the same wine by the bottle,” adding, “The first-floor guest likely still does not realize they are a victim.”

He continued, “They served the wine that the first-floor guest bought by the bottle into the glass of the wine-pairing customer on the second floor who had filed a claim,” and asked rhetorically, “Does that make sense?” The wine in question is known to be valued at 790,000 KRW per bottle.

Wine King asserted that this incident cannot be regarded as a simple mistake. He said, “It is not a mistake. The label design of the 2000 vintage and the 2005 vintage are completely different,” arguing, “Anyone with even a slight interest in wine would notice it.”

Regarding the moment when a Mosu sommelier said, ‘We will also let you taste the 2000 vintage,’ he interpreted it as, “There is no 2000 vintage to give you, but since the bottle that the first-floor guest purchased happens to be in my hands, it implies I will secretly pour you a little without that guest knowing.”

Wine King calling out the wine swap controversy at Mosu Seoul. From his YouTube channel

Wine King also took aim at structural problems in the fine-dining industry. He argued that the Michelin-style service of storing wine out of guests’ sight and having staff refill glasses enabled deceptive acts. He also criticized the practice of staff pouring from a bottle the customer purchased by the bottle under the pretext of tasting, or sharing it with other tables, as “an infringement of the customer’s legitimate ownership.”

He further emphasized that owner-chef Ahn Sung-jae cannot evade responsibility. Wine King noted that when he visited Mosu, the head sommelier informed him, “There are only two kinds of dessert wine,” yet on the YouTube channel of Ahn Sung-jae, the same sommelier said, “We always have more than 10.” He called this “lying and an ad-libbing attitude.”

He added, “Ahn Sung-jae is a remarkable chef who has left a mark in the history of our country, but there is fault in managing things far too little,” and said, “If you are a Michelin restaurant owner-chef, you must take an interest in and manage the wine list, even if you have to force yourself.”

Mosu Seoul earlier, on the 23rd of last month, apologized for insufficient guidance and an inadequate response during the wine pairing service. This came after customer A, who visited Mosu, revealed that although they ordered a 2000 vintage wine worth about 800,000 KRW, a 2005 vintage that was about 100,000 KRW cheaper was served instead.