WeMakePrice apologizes for abuse of recruits
WeMakePrice, one of Korea’s three largest social commerce websites, apologized Thursday for causing public uproar over its alleged abuse of 11 probationary employees.
By Lee Hyo-sik
WeMakePrice, one of Korea’s three largest social commerce websites, apologized Thursday for causing a public uproar over its abuse of 11 probationary employees.
In a hurriedly-arranged press conference at the company headquarters in southern Seoul, WeMakePrice CEO Park Eun-sang said he was sorry for the firm’s controversial hiring practices.
“I sincerely apologize for causing controversy over the recent hiring of sales personnel,” Park said. “I feel ashamed and hold myself responsible for the whole thing as the head of the company.”
WeMakePrice came under criticism in December when its alleged exploitation of 11 recruits was made public by a cable news network.
The workers were reportedly forced to work up to 14 hours a day for two weeks, even on weekends. They were paid only 50,000 won a day regardless of their working hours. None were then offered a permanent job after the probation period.
Responding to the public outrage, the online retailer later decided to hire all the recruits, with 10 of the 11 probationary employees joining the company.
“I met with all 11 recruits in person and listened to what they said. I realized that the two-week field assignment wasn’t easy for them,” Park said. “We should have explained to them in more detail about our hiring standards. We should have also thought more carefully about how we notify them of our hiring decisions.”
The CEO then said WeMakePrice will faithfully follow instructions given by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
“Reflecting on this unfortunate incident, we will listen more carefully to our employees and others when deciding how to hire new workers,” he said. “We will continue to work hard to overhaul our personnel management system and advance the corporate culture.”
The labor ministry, which began an investigation into WeMakePrice when its hiring controversy surfaced, imposed an 8.4 million won fine. It also ordered the firm to pay probationary employees an overtime allowance and sign a labor contract with them in accordance with the country’s labor laws.
Established in 2013, WeMakePrice is one of the biggest social commerce websites in Korea with nearly 15 million registered customers. But in the aftermath of the hiring controversy, the number of its customers dropped sharply.