A memorial ceremony for a 23-year-old employee, who died Saturday after getting caught in the mixer, is held at a factory affiliated with food and beverage giant SPC Group on Oct. 19, 2022. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — A boycott of South Korea’s food and beverage giant SPC Group is spreading among consumers after a young worker in her 20s died at a factory affiliated with the group.
The 23-year-old employee at the factory affiliated with the group in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of Seoul, died Saturday after her upper body was caught in a sauce mixer.
A list of SPC affiliate brands is spreading on online communities and social media and posts with hashtags such as “SPC boycott” are shared.
The company’s lukewarm response to the factory worker’s death added more fuel to the spread of the boycott movement.
On Sunday, a day after the incident, the SPC labor union disclosed a video showing that the company kept the factory running and just covered the sauce mixer that the worker had gotten caught in.
Excluding the machines involved in the mishap, for which the Ministry of Employment and Labor ordered the suspension of work, the factory continued operations with other machines.
SPC said it couldn’t suspend production due to concerns about possible damages it could bring to its affiliated stores.
The factory kept running without even a short interlude of time to address the psychological distress of employees.
A day after the accident, SPC distributed a press release saying that it had opened a new store in London.
SPC chairman Heo Young-in issued an official apology on Monday, two days after the accident.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
