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Factory death prompts removal of hit baseball snack amid public outcry
Customers check out SPC Samlip's bread, released in collaboration with the Korea Baseball Organization, at a convenience store in Seoul, March 24. Newsis
By Park Ung
Repeat worker fatalities at SPC Group spark consumer outrage
For one convenience store owner in central Seoul, who asked to be identified only by her surname Kim, the past few days have been consumed by the complex task of relocating her shop. As she carefully moves inventory to the new location, she’s also reassessing the range of products she carries.
One item that stands out is SPC Samlip’s bread, created in collaboration with the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). It holds an ambiguous position on her shelves — neither a top seller nor a flop. While it hasn’t flown off the shelves, Kim notes that it has performed steadily enough to avoid being considered a failure.
“It never failed to sell,” Kim told The Korea Times. “Unlike other types of bread, I’ve never had to throw it out. Baseball fans always bought it.”
Indeed, fans absolutely loved it.
Many weren't just buying the bread for a snack, but for the thrill of collecting the photo stickers of baseball players tucked inside each package. This passionate collecting frenzy fueled an unprecedented sales surge. Just last month, the KBO bread line blew past 10 million items sold just 41 days after its launch, making it the fastest-selling product in SPC Samlip's history.
Now, those same baseball fans are boycotting the bread under the slogan, “Don’t plaster players’ faces on bread made with workers' blood!” — a campaign that ultimately led to a halt in production.
SPC Samlip recently announced it would halt production of its KBO-themed bread following a fatal workplace accident last week. The accident involved a woman in her 50s who died after becoming caught in a conveyor belt while applying lubricant at the company’s factory in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province.
“We extend our deepest condolences and apologies to the deceased and their family for the accident that occurred at our factory,” the company said in a statement, pledging to make every effort to create a safer working environment for its employees.
SPC Samlip, a 57-year-old bakery affiliate of SPC Group, generated over 3 trillion won ($2.17 billion) in revenue last year and commands nearly 70 percent of Korea’s packaged bread market.
Police prepare for a joint inspection following a worker’s death at an SPC Group factory in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. Yonhap
Following the accident, baseball fans launched a boycott petition, declaring, “We won’t ignore the tragedy behind the flashy collaboration.”
The campaign set a target of 2,500 signatures and has already drawn support from over 2,360 people.
A KBO official told The Korea Times that the boycott played a key role in the decision to halt bread production.
“We don’t just listen to our fans — they are the very reason we exist,” he said. “And the fact is, a serious accident occurred. We made the decision after taking everything into consideration.”
When asked whether it was SPC Group or the organization that first moved to suspend the product — or whether the bread might be released again in the future — the official said he could not confirm.
This isn’t the first time SPC Group has faced both a worker’s death and a consumer boycott.
In 2022, a woman in her 20s died after being caught in a sauce mixer at a factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province — triggering public outrage and a widespread boycott. At the time, SPC Group Chairman Hur Young-in apologized and pledged to invest 100 billion won over three years to improve workplace safety.
Despite the pledge, another fatal accident occurred in 2023, when a woman in her 50s died after her abdomen was caught in a dough machine at an SPC affiliate’s bakery plant in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
Over the past three years, SPC affiliates have reported three worker deaths and five serious injuries, such as finger amputations. Most accidents have prompted investigations by police and the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
Baseball fans once embraced the bread featuring their favorite teams, but now, many are walking away from it.
“I ate a lot of KBO bread, but with repeated tragedies happening at SPC Group, it’s not appropriate for the product to keep selling unless the company fully addresses safety issues and ensures such accidents won’t happen again,” said Hwang, a 40-year-old baseball fan who asked to be identified only by his surname, as his company works closely with SPC.
“I’ve seen fellow baseball fans post on Instagram saying things like, ‘I won’t eat KBO bread anymore,’ and even calling it ‘murder bread.’”