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Board of Appeals Upholds 15‑Day Suspension for Western Sunset Market Tobacco Permit
Summary
The Board of Appeals denied Yongheon Ahn’s appeal of a 15‑day tobacco permit suspension, finding the record supports the Department of Public Health’s determination that cigarettes were sold to a minor despite the owner’s claim he checked ID. The vote was 3–0.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Sept. 17 denied an appeal from Yongheon Ahn, owner of Western Sunset Market (4099 Judah St.), upholding a 15‑day suspension of his tobacco sales permit for selling a pack of cigarettes to a 16‑year‑old on April 27, 2014.
Janine Young, senior environmental health inspector at the Department of Public Health, told the board that San Francisco Police Department reports and the department’s investigation show Ahn asked for and inspected the customer’s identification and nevertheless sold the cigarettes. Young said the health officer reduced the maximum first‑time suspension (up to 90 days under the tobacco sales permit ordinance) to 15 days because the owner attempted to verify age and language issues were a mitigating factor.
Ahn told the board through an interpreter that his English is limited, that he believed he checked the ID and that he would not intentionally sell to minors. He submitted a signed statement from a customer and surveillance material. He also said his business has operated for nine years without prior violations.
Commissioners questioned the clarity of the recorded ID shown on the video, noted the sworn police statement and weighed precedent for first‑time penalties. Vice President Arcelya Hurtado moved to deny the appeal, stating the facts did not support Ahn’s assertion that the identification had been switched and that a mistake by the store owner resulted in the sale to a minor.
On the motion — which the board recorded as carried by a 3–0 vote — the board found the evidence insufficient to overturn the Department of Public Health’s hearing officer’s reduced 15‑day suspension.
The board’s decision leaves the 15‑day suspension in place; no further action was announced at the meeting.
