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Korean loses job over photo booth brawl in Vietnam
Two Koreans scuffle with two Vietnamese customers at a self-service photo booth in Hanoi, Vietnam, Friday. Captured from X
By Park Ung
A Korean woman, whose name was withheld, was dismissed from her job after assaulting local residents in Hanoi, Vietnam. The incident went viral after surveillance footage circulated widely online.
On Friday, two Korean women reportedly assaulted two Vietnamese women at a self-photo booth in Hanoi’s My Dinh district, a neighborhood known for its sizable Korean community. The incident reportedly began when one of the Koreans told the locals to hurry up before physically attacking them.
Surveillance footage showed her slapping one of the Vietnamese women and knocking off her hat. The altercation quickly escalated into a brawl, with the two pulling each other’s hair.
The online video of the altercation quickly went viral on social media, drawing backlash in both Korea and Vietnam. In YouTube videos covering the incident, Korean commenters wrote, “You should be handed over to Vietnamese authorities and punished under their laws,” and “You’ve embarrassed Korea. I apologize as a fellow Korean.”
The company that employed one of the Koreans said that it had fired her and apologized to the Vietnamese people and everyone affected by the incident.
“We will do our utmost to offer a sincere apology to the victim and provide full support for recovery,” Jeon Sung-wook, head of the manufacturing company Segyung Vina, said in a statement Wednesday.
Jeon said the employee responsible for the assault had been assigned to the company’s Vietnam branch but was currently stationed at its headquarters in Korea. The incident occurred while she was on a business trip to Vietnam.
“The company will establish a code of conduct for overseas assignments and provide regular training for all expatriates and headquarters staff to prevent similar incidents in the future,” Jeon said.
An official at the Embassy of Korea in Vietnam said local police are currently investigating the incident and that the embassy is cooperating fully.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said it is in communication with the Vietnamese government to ensure the incident is appropriately addressed and does not affect bilateral relations.
Park Ung