{"id":2199449,"date":"2022-11-10T08:58:27","date_gmt":"2022-11-10T08:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199449"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:11:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:11:00","slug":"tragic-factory-death-sets-yoon-administration-up-for-showdown-with-labor-unions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/tragic-factory-death-sets-yoon-administration-up-for-showdown-with-labor-unions\/","title":{"rendered":"Tragic factory death sets Yoon administration up for showdown with labor unions"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Korean consumers have called for a <\/span>boycott of Paris Baguette<\/span><\/a> \u2014 a ubiquitous South Korean bakery chain \u2014 and its parent company SPC Group after a 23-year-old woman was crushed to death at their factory.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the early hours of Oct. 15, 2022, the woman got caught in a sauce mixing machine meant to be operated by two people and was mangled. But the company resumed operations immediately because the Ministry of Employment and Labor had <\/span>only ordered the suspension of work on the machine involved<\/span><\/a> in the accident \u2014 not the entire factory floor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Management ceased operations on the production floor the following day after the ministry recommended suspending additional work in consideration of the emotional trauma of the workers who witnessed the accident.<\/span><\/p>\n

SPC officials, including the company\u2019s chairman Heo Young-in, have not explained why the woman worked alone at the factory that night.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, two days after the accident, the Korean Chemical Textile & Food Workers’ Union held a press conference <\/span>claiming<\/span><\/a> the company employed an insufficient number of night shift workers. A spokesperson said, \u201cWe have continuously demanded they hire more workers as they lacked night shift personnel, but they did not listen to us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To make matters worse, in a poor attempt to express condolences, SPC <\/span>sent two boxes of bread to the woman’s funeral service<\/span><\/a>. The bread contained filling the young woman might have made for the company while she was alive.<\/span><\/p>\n

The boycott campaign against SPC and its <\/span>crown jewel<\/span><\/a> Paris Baguette has since spread <\/span>beyond South Korea<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Heo <\/span>formally apologized<\/span><\/a> for the accident after President Yoon Suk-yeol <\/span>ordered an investigation<\/span><\/a>, this is not the first time the company has found itself under the microscope for poor safety standards or callousness towards its employees. For example, a week before this particular accident, another employee <\/span>suffered a separate accident<\/span><\/a>, but the company did not send the employee to a hospital because of the employee\u2019s status as a non-regular worker. And days after the accident, another employee <\/span>severed his index finger<\/span><\/a> when his hand got stuck while inspecting a bread-packing machine.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

The popular South Korean bakery chain, Paris Baguette, sells a variety of breads and deserts | Image: Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n

LABOR TROUBLE<\/b><\/p>\n

For the Yoon administration, the boycott campaign against Paris Baguette and <\/span>other SPC-operated global brands<\/span><\/a> portends a political storm.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most South Koreans <\/span>disapprove<\/span><\/a> of President Yoon\u2019s job performance, and much of the blame rests on <\/span>self-inflicted wounds<\/span><\/a>. Furthermore, although Yoon has been in office for less than six months, protests calling for his resignation have grown in size and volume. For instance, South Korean police officials estimated that about 16,000 to 18,000 people attended an <\/span>anti-Yoon rally<\/span><\/a> in Seoul on Oct. 22, while organizers estimated the number was closer to 300,000 to 400,000.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the discrepancy, President Yoon cannot afford to be nonchalant about the growing protests, as similar protests <\/span>hounded<\/span><\/a> previous conservative presidents and even led to one president\u2019s <\/span>impeachment<\/span><\/a>. On top of that, Yoon\u2019s woes worsened when he effectively lost any chance of cooperation with the main opposition party, as evidenced by his <\/span>parliamentary speech in a half-empty National Assembly hall<\/span><\/a> after the Minjoo Party boycotted his speech.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon\u2019s growing unpopularity and perceived political weakness could incentivize South Korean unions to organize and coordinate with other groups to form even larger rallies. After all, unions across the country <\/span>were crucial<\/span><\/a> in pressuring the government to impeach former President Park Geun-hye.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even former President Moon Jae-in, <\/span>a labor-friendly liberal<\/span><\/a>, was not immune to the <\/span>ire<\/span><\/a> of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the country\u2019s two umbrella labor organizations, when he didn\u2019t meet all of its demands. So much so that <\/span>thousands of workers protested in Seoul<\/span><\/a> despite the Moon administration\u2019s warnings that their protest could ignite a new COVID-19 surge.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Republic

Yoon at his May 2022 inauguration | Image: Republic of Korea Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

However, unlike his predecessor, President Yoon has never had a warm relationship with labor unions. While running for the presidency, Yoon once criticized the country\u2019s 52-hour work week, one of Moon\u2019s <\/span>notable achievements<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> that workers should be allowed to work 120 hours a week. Shortly after winning the presidential election, one of the first things Yoon did as president-elect was <\/span>meet with the country\u2019s business leaders<\/span><\/a>. Since assuming office, Yoon has pushed for <\/span>deregulation<\/span><\/a> and said labor conflicts should be <\/span>handled by law and principle<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Labor unions, already <\/span>dissatisfied<\/span><\/a> with the Moon administration\u2019s minimum wage policy and Yoon\u2019s pro-business administration, could easily find common ground with other anti-Yoon groups and agree to form significantly larger rallies to pressure the government. But so far, the protests against Yoon <\/span>have not attracted political moderates or crossed party lines<\/span><\/a> as they have against former President Park Geun-hye. That lack of bipartisan anger has so far allowed Yoon to appear unperturbed by the protests, <\/span>stating<\/span><\/a> that citizens have a right to political expression but should not \u201cdisturb constitutional order.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the tragic death at the SPL-owned factory and continuous revelations of <\/span>haphazard safety regulations<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>work-related<\/span><\/a> deaths<\/span><\/a> across the country could provide the spark that sets off the kind of larger protests requiring more of Yoon\u2019s attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

WHAT’S NEXT<\/b><\/p>\n

President Yoon attempted to distance himself from his pro-business image by ordering an investigation into the young woman\u2019s death.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But he has depleted much of his political capital due to the <\/span>accruement<\/span><\/a> of minor scandals, controversies, poor decisions, and unforced errors during his short time in office.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon will find it difficult to deflect the public\u2019s anger, which had already been building, and could find himself at a new political low point if union-led protests continue to grow.<\/span><\/p>\n

Edited by Arius Derr<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Business & Economy<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Korean consumers have called for a boycott of Paris Baguette \u2014 a ubiquitous South Korean bakery chain \u2014 and its parent company SPC Group after a 23-year-old woman was crushed to death at their factory. In the early hours of Oct. 15, 2022, the woman got caught in a sauce mixing machine meant to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7824,"featured_media":2199453,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[24],"yoast_head":"\nTragic factory death sets Yoon administration up for showdown with labor unions - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/tragic-factory-death-sets-yoon-administration-up-for-showdown-with-labor-unions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tragic factory death sets Yoon administration up for showdown with labor unions - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Korean consumers have called for a boycott of Paris Baguette \u2014 a ubiquitous South Korean bakery chain \u2014 and its parent company SPC Group after a 23-year-old woman was crushed to death at their factory. 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