By Kim Tae-jong
Local food and beverage makers have stressed the importance of business ethics to their employees and vowed to stop unfair practices against their sales agents.
The move is a desperate effort to avoid any fallout from the recent scandal at Namyang Dairy Products, which has come under fire for abusing its contracted retailers, as the authorities are launching a series of investigations into such malpractice.
Binggrae, one of the nation's biggest snack and drink makers, has recently announced that it will penalize employees found to be engaged in unfair business practices such as coercion.
In a letter posted on the firm's intranet, CEO Lee Keon-young said, "Let's be more strict on fair management in a more systematic manner. All executives and employees should be aware that a company can be in big trouble if it ignores the Fair Trade Law."
He urged employees to diligently adhere to fair practices.
These remarks came as Namyang is facing its worst crisis ever, as its business malpractice has led angry consumers to embark on a boycott of its products. The nation's leading dairy firm has issued an official apology for an abuse scandal involving its employee as well as other unfair business practices such as enforced sales orders, but this has not appeased angry protesters.
Owing to the scandal, other local firms are beginning to adopt measures to avoid getting entangled in a similar situation.
For instance, CJ Cheil Jedang, a giant in the Korean food industry, has also strengthened business ethic programs for its employees, emphasizing the importance of shared growth with its partners. It operates a hotline where it communicates with sales agents and has promised to improve the system so that customer queries and concerns can be reflected in the firm's management.
Sajo Group also said it will increase the number of meetings with sales agents to twice a month.
Lotte Food has also announced that it will eliminate the use of the words "dominant" and "subordinate" in its business contract, which are being widely used to differentiate a company from subcontractors or those who give orders for goods.
The government is also poised to crack down on illegal business practices.
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) launched a probe into Namyang following the scandal. It is also investigating other dairy makers such as Seoul Milk and Korea Yakult to see whether they unfairly pressured or dumped their products onto distributors in order to meet sales quotas.
Local food and beverage makers have stressed the importance of business ethics to their employees and vowed to stop unfair practices against their sales agents.
The move is a desperate effort to avoid any fallout from the recent scandal at Namyang Dairy Products, which has come under fire for abusing its contracted retailers, as the authorities are launching a series of investigations into such malpractice.
Binggrae, one of the nation's biggest snack and drink makers, has recently announced that it will penalize employees found to be engaged in unfair business practices such as coercion.
In a letter posted on the firm's intranet, CEO Lee Keon-young said, "Let's be more strict on fair management in a more systematic manner. All executives and employees should be aware that a company can be in big trouble if it ignores the Fair Trade Law."
He urged employees to diligently adhere to fair practices.
These remarks came as Namyang is facing its worst crisis ever, as its business malpractice has led angry consumers to embark on a boycott of its products. The nation's leading dairy firm has issued an official apology for an abuse scandal involving its employee as well as other unfair business practices such as enforced sales orders, but this has not appeased angry protesters.
Owing to the scandal, other local firms are beginning to adopt measures to avoid getting entangled in a similar situation.
For instance, CJ Cheil Jedang, a giant in the Korean food industry, has also strengthened business ethic programs for its employees, emphasizing the importance of shared growth with its partners. It operates a hotline where it communicates with sales agents and has promised to improve the system so that customer queries and concerns can be reflected in the firm's management.
Sajo Group also said it will increase the number of meetings with sales agents to twice a month.
Lotte Food has also announced that it will eliminate the use of the words "dominant" and "subordinate" in its business contract, which are being widely used to differentiate a company from subcontractors or those who give orders for goods.
The government is also poised to crack down on illegal business practices.
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) launched a probe into Namyang following the scandal. It is also investigating other dairy makers such as Seoul Milk and Korea Yakult to see whether they unfairly pressured or dumped their products onto distributors in order to meet sales quotas.
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