The Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas Hotel in Samseong-dong, Seoul, is in hot water after a group of guests who dined at a private function there fell ill.
This is the third time this year that the five-star hotel has been involved in an incident concerning food safety.
On Nov. 27, more than 80 people attended a private dinner where, according to participants, at least 10 of them fell ill during or after the event.
One of those taken ill was a Korea Herald reporter.
“I had sashimi, red wine, cream soup, steak and salad. I didn’t eat anything else after that. Then I woke up around 3 a.m. because I felt really sick,” said Philip Iglauer, a diplomatic affairs reporter at The Korea Herald. He experienced severe stomach cramps and threw up around 6 a.m.
Another guest at the event was taken to the hospital by ambulance during dinner. She said she had her blood sample taken at the hospital. If the case is confirmed as food poisoning, her doctor is required to report the case to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which will direct local administration to conduct a sanitary inspection of the hotel.
The hotel neither admitted nor denied a food poisoning case.
“We are not trying to evade our responsibility. Our priority is the health and safety of the guests,” said Darren Morrish, general manager of the hotel.
The manager said that as soon as they learned about the outbreak of illness they emptied the kitchen involved and sanitized the facility. The food sample for the day was sent to an inspection agency for examination and the result is due this week.
“We will do whatever we can to prevent such mishaps in the future,” Morrish said.
In February, more than 70 of the 700 members of the Korean Bar Association claimed to have suffered from extreme stomachaches after eating a boxed meal at the hotel during a seminar. The hotel gave them vouchers worth 700,000 won, a Korean Bar Association official said. Those with minor symptoms were given 200,000 won vouchers.
In January, three guests were given refunds for the meal they had at one of the hotel’s restaurants after extreme abdominal pain.
The hotel received HACCP certification in 2004, becoming the first hotel in the Asia-Pacific region to receive the internationally recognized guarantee of food safety.
By Bae Ji-sook
(
baejisook@heraldcorp.com)
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