Operation contrition attempted Friday, October 21 by Hur Young-in, founder and president of the South Korean bakery and fast food giant SPC, known for its flagship brand, Paris Baguette, and its Shake Shack and Baskin Robbins franchises. , hard to convince. In a dark suit adorned with the blue and yellow badge of the company’s smiley logo, the leader (36e fortune of his country, according to Forbes) apologized for the death on October 15 of a 23-year-old employee at a group factory in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of Seoul. The young woman was grabbed by a giant blender in which she was pouring ingredients.
Since then, the company has been the target of strong protests and a call for a boycott of its brands, because the tragedy illustrates its very controversial management of a predominantly female and precarious staff. The tragic accident is said to be due to the absence of a safety device. The factory resumed its activities the day after the tragedy. ” It’s not correct “a admis M. Hur. “We will strengthen security”promised, for his part, Hwang Jae-bok, the CEO of Paris Baguette.
Call for boycott and rally in Paris
The discontent spread to the National Assembly and led the president, Yoon Seok-youl, to lament “a shocking drama”. He called for a thorough investigation into the death of the young woman whose death aroused great emotion in a country where precariousness mainly affects women and where education costs remain high. The victim worked to help his mother and younger brother. She dreamed of one day running a Paris Baguette store.
A rally was held on October 20 in front of the Paris Baguette du Châtelet, in Paris
In addition to the boycott call launched on Twitter, with the slogan “We will not eat bread made with the blood of workers”, a protest movement was organized in front of 1,000 of Korea’s 3,400 Baguette Parisians. In France, on the initiative of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), which fears to see “businesses in France” be inspired “human rights violations in Korea”a gathering was held on October 20 in front of the Paris Baguette du Châtelet, in Paris, where the brand was established in 2014.
SPC’s methods have been criticized since 2017. At the time, it emerged that the five thousand Paris Baguette bakers, 80% of whom are women, were employed not by Paris Croissant, the parent company of the franchise, but by partner companies, in particular PB Partners. Deeming this practice illegal, the Ministry of Labor had ordered Paris Croissant to hire the staff concerned, which the company did not do.
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