Business & Tech
SF Suspends Fisherman's Wharf Business
Federal bribery charges are pending against the suspended business owners, the City Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — San Francisco is suspending a business in Fisherman's Wharf and its owners from bidding on or being awarded new contracts due to pending federal bribery charges against them, the City Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
Min and Hye Paik own Nick's Lighthouse on Taylor Street. Charges filed in 2023 allege they tried to bribe an undercover FBI agent and a port employee to try and secure leases on two other vacant restaurant properties in the lucrative tourist area of San Francisco. The city employee initially notified their supervisor, which led to the city alerting the authorities and sparking a sting, City Attorney David Chiu's office said.
According to the city, the Paiks own Nick's along with other business entities that have also been suspended from working with the city — Wharf777 Inc. and Uri Food Inc.
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Two of the couple's nephews, Sung Ki Kim and Ihyun Jeoung, are also part-owners of Nick's and are also part of the suspension.
According to federal prosecutors, between May and November 2023, the Paiks allegedly paid $19,000 to an undercover agent and a port employee to attempt to get leases for two other properties at Fisherman's Wharf.
Find out what's happening in San Franciscowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
In the complaint filed by prosecutors, Min "James" Paik sought "to gain advantages unavailable to the general public, including special treatment by city employees in the form of access to specific Port sites, favorable and more lenient treatment during the lease bid process, and the avoidance of review by certain departments and entities that James believed would reject his bid for restaurant space."
By Nov. 14, 2023, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California charged the Paiks with conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery of an agent.
According to Chiu, the city is allowed to suspend contractors or grantees accused of misconduct before any conviction, as it has done here. Also, the city will most likely cancel the existing contracts completely, he said, which is known as debarment. Both suspension and debarment can last up to five years.
The federal hearing against the Paiks has yet to be scheduled, but the couple is due in court Tuesday for a case status conference, according to court documents.
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