Soho Korean restaurant: Chef, 60, ‘stabbed colleague to death after row blew up’
A chef has appeared in court today accused of stabbing a colleague to death in a row at a Korean restaurant in Soho.
Li Hunan is alleged to have murdered Il Sung after the two men argued about the way the victim was preparing food with the defendant querying his skill as a chef.
A court heard today that the 60-year-old, thought to be a Chinese national, is allegedly to have swung at Mr Sung, who had a knife sharpener, with a knife he was using to prepare food when they were in the kitchen.
The 58-year-old, from Southwark, south London, was pronounced dead in Poland Street, a side road near Oxford Street in central London at 12.20pm on Monday, 15 August.
Police had been alerted at 11.40am and found the victim collapsed in the kitchen of the restaurant, understood to be called Arirang Korean, with two fatal stab wounds to the chest as well as slash wounds, including one to the face.
Pictured: Police arresting a man whose ‘colleague’ was stabbed to death in a Korean restaurant on a side-road off Oxford Street in the heart of London’s West End on Monday
The victim and the man accused of the Poland St murder are understood to have both worked at the Arirang Korean restaurant, according to police sources. Pictured: a man being arrested in relation to the murder of a man being stabbed to death off Oxford Street
A man was stabbed to death at a Korean restaurant in a side-road off Oxford Street at the heart of London’s West End on Monday – to the horror of passing shoppers. Pictured: Police cordon off Poland Street
Armed police and ambulance services rushed to Arirang Restaurant on Poland Street, Soho (location is pictured), shortly before midday on Monday, and found a man with knife wounds, to the horror of passing shoppers
Armed police and ambulance services rushed to Arirang Restaurant on Poland Street, Soho, shortly before midday, and found a man with knife wounds. Pictured, forensics at the scene
Hunan appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday assisted in the dock by a Korean interpreter and only spoke to confirm his name and date of birth.
‘Mr Sung had been working at the restaurant for three weeks,’ said Dickon Reid, prosecuting. ‘On the morning of the murder he and the defendant were preparing food.
‘In the three weeks Mr Sung had worked there the defendant questioned his skills as a chef.’
According to another restaurant worker the pair started arguing in Korean and Mr Sung asked: ‘Why can’t you ne nice?’
The witness said the pair were ‘in each other’s faces’ and they began to tussle.
Police and ambulance services rushed to the Arirang Restaurant on Poland Street (seen on the left of the first white van) shortly before midday on Monday
A police officer stands guard near the scene of the stabbing, which happened on Poland Street shortly before midday on Monday
At one point the victim struck Li with a knife sharpener, to the shoulder and to the temple, Mr Reid said.
According to the witness Hunan was getting ‘angrier and angrier’ as he swung at Mr Sung with the kitchen knife in his hand.
Police later arrived at the restaurant and found the victim collapsed in the kitchen.
Mr Sung was pronounced dead at 12.20pm, the court heard.
Li told police he had been attacked by Mr Sung and ‘in response he stabbed him’, the prosecutor said.
A post-mortem examination found a preliminary cause of death was sharp force trauma to the chest.
Judge Philip Katz set a timetable for the case with a plea hearing on November 4.
The defendant, of no fixed address, was remanded into custody.
