Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
Is E-Land 'habitual' labor abuser?
By Park Jae-hyuk
Park Sung-su
By Park Jae-hyuk
E-Land Group has been facing criticism for its alleged mistreatment of part-time workers.
In a bid to defuse the rising public anger, the mid-tier conglomerate has decided to lay the blame on the head of its restaurant unit E-Land Park.
E-Land Park CEO Park Hyeong-sik was dismissed Tuesday for exploiting part-time employees of the company-owned restaurants.
The Seoul-based conglomerate said four executives of the group’s food and leisure subsidiary have been dismissed, demoted or had their salaries reduced since last Wednesday.
Chief executive director Kim Hyun-soo has been demoted to managing director, and managing director Kim Yeon-bae faces a six-month salary cut. Another staffer in charge of the company’s well-known restaurant chain Ashley also faces a salary cut for six months.
According to the group, CEO Park will resign as soon as the matter is settled.
E-Land Park has recently been criticized by consumers for withholding about 8.4 billion won ($7 million) in wages this year from 44,360 part-timers, mostly working for its 20 restaurant chains, including Ashley, Nature Kitchen and Pizza Mall.
Rep. Lee Jung-mi of the minor opposition Justice Party first raised questions about the labor abuse issue during a National Assembly audit in October, and then the Ministry of Employment and Labor investigated the company’s 360 stores nationwide.
E-Land Group apologized for the subsidiary’s misconduct on its official website last Wednesday, promising the group will offer a better working environment for its employees.
“E-Land Group has inspected stores related to this issue and paid the delayed wages. We will continue to compensate the losses of our employees,” the group said.
Consumers, however, began to boycott E-Land, saying the group’s apology was too late.
Some of them criticized that Chairman Park Sung-su, owner of the group, is trying to escape responsibility, because the punished CEO is a mere salaried employee. They pointed out that the chairman has also benefited from the labor abuse.
Rep. Lee claimed all subsidiaries of E-Land Group, not only E-Land Park, have breached the Labor Standard Act.
In 2007, E-Land Retail, a discount chain subsidiary of E-Land Group, was embroiled in labor disputes which were cinematized in “Cart” and dramatized in “Awl.”
“The group forces religious rituals on its employees every morning and does not pay overtime,” the lawmaker said. “The group urges its employees to withdraw from the labor union as well.”
She said many violations of the subsidiaries of E-Land Group are still being reported to her office and the Justice Party. Lee demanded the government inspect all subsidiaries of E-Land Group and said the company should draft specific plans to address the problems.
Meanwhile, civic groups and the Arbeit Workers Union (AWU), a trade union of part-time workers in Korea, held a press conference last Thursday in front of the headquarters of E-Land Park in southwestern Seoul, urging the government to arrest E-Land Park’s CEO.