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.
'Sajo workers forced to buy canned tuna'
Sajo Group Chairman Ju Jin-woo, left, and a gift set that the group sold during the Chuseok holiday last year. / Courtesy of Sajo Group
By Park Jae-hyuk
By Park Jae-hyuk
Sajo Group has been criticized for allegedly forcing its employees to buy hundreds of gift sets worth millions of won during the past 10 years of Chuseok and Lunar New Year holidays to boost its sales, according to the food firm's employees, Wednesday.
The employees allege they had no choice but to buy the gift sets comprised of canned tuna and cooking oil at their expense during the traditional holiday seasons in order to follow management's request to sell the hundreds of gift sets. The total cost of the gift sets almost amount to the same as an employee's annual salary.
A petitioner, who appears to be a Sajo worker, even posted an online petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website last month to reveal the company's intranet notice which was written to urge Sajo employees to sell the record-largest amount of gift sets worth 21 billion won ($18.8 million) for the upcoming Chuseok holiday season later this month.
According to the petitioner, the notice also demands supervisors at Sajo subsidiaries count the sales performance of their employees every day, because the group would disclose their performance on the groupware.
The petitioner said managers, who are paid 40 million won a year, have been urged to sell gift sets worth 15 million won during the Lunar New Year holidays and to sell the same amount during the Chuseok holidays.
“Sajo employees have bought the gift sets at their expense to meet the company's demand, or sold the products to their friends and relatives,” the petitioner said. “If they fail to meet the demand, they suffer disadvantages in their personnel lives.”
As of Wednesday, more than 1,840 people signed and supported the petition.
One of the supporters, who claimed to be a Sajo employee, commented that many Sajo employees complain about their freezers filled with canned tuna during the traditional holidays.
Sajo, however, denied the petitioner's claim, saying its employees do not suffer any disadvantages, even if they fail to meet the demand.
“We started this practice 10 years ago, because our employees wanted to buy the gift sets at lower prices,” a Sajo official said. “As the employees can receive 6 percent of their sales as incentives, many of them like this custom.”